Blade of Tempest - Shinatsuhiko
by BringZStorm
Summary: Tatsumi is born in a village hidden within the mountains. His life quickly escalated with the discovery of a blade hidden deep in the undergrounds. The peace ended as he is faced with danger upon danger with only one thing to guide him. The Blade of Tempest. [Status : Being Rewritten]
1. Chapter 1 - Prologue

The world is spinning, or is it that I'm spinning?

I don't know anymore, my consciousness is slowly fading away.

Why was I even here?

The world came to an abrupt stop, I yelled out in pain as I hit something hard.

It is cold, wherever I am, it is cold. This feeling, shivering, all alone. Where have I experienced that before?

Ah how I miss that warmth, the warmth found only in my mother's embrace. It's been years since I last felt that warmth.

This cold, sapping away at my strength and heat, it's the same as that time, I can still faintly remember her body growing cold. Just like right now.

I grit my teeth and push myself up, I can't end up like that. This life that my parents gave me, this life that my parents saved, this life has to live on.

I stood up unsteadily and hugged myself. It's cold, really cold. But of course, cause I'm in a forest deep in the mountains.

How did I get here again? My eyes wandered around, nothing but white, brown and a light shade of green. My eyes were captured by movement, a rabbit, fur so white it looked like a moving fluff.

That's right, I was chasing a rabbit. I wanted to capture it, so much that it had led me away from the group.

I lived in a village deep in these mountains. It's not a big village, nor is it small. It is nothing out of the ordinary, yet it is special to me.

I was too young to be hunting, I'm only 10 years old, that was what they all told me, but I didn't listen. I stubbornly forced myself into the group and they had no choice but to take me along. Over and over, they told me to be sure not to get separated, but I didn't listen, I chased after that rabbit and ended tripping, rolling down a hill.

I looked up at the sky's, the forest wasn't thick enough to block my vision from the sky, I could see dark clouds rolling in. Everyone said that the weather in the mountains can change quickly, the wind was also picking up.

I felt tears building up.

"W-what do I do? I'm s-s-s-sc-ared." I whispered to myself. It's cold, so cold.

I began wandering. My body was shaking, maybe it was from the cold, or despair, I couldn't tell. After 10 minutes, I snapped out of my trance.

Why didn't I yell back there? Maybe they would've heard me.

I felt so weak, so stupid, and so dead. So dead huh?

I began laughing a bit.

What a great way to die, freezing to death in the middle of nowhere, accomplishing nothing, with no purpose.

I am young, I still don't understand a lot of things, when I'm happy I laugh, when I am said I cry, when I'm angry I blow up.

My emotions control me.

All this despair, this chill, it pisses me off.

"WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?!" What a horrible 10 years, I wanted revenge, revenge on life and fate.

Maybe that's why she responded to me.

I felt a pull in my chest. No other way to describe it, it was like there was a magnet inside my heart and I began moving on my own towards whatever was attracting me.

I had no idea where I was going, this was the first time I've been more than 10 feet away from the village. But if I was going to die anyways, might as well follow whatever is leading me.

How long I walked no longer mattered, all that mattered is where it brought me.

An edge of a cliff.

I giggled, then began laughing, then crying.

It seems like the spirit or devil or my guts or whatever that was leading me wants me to die huh?

It's so ironic.

The light at the end of the tunnel, I followed that light, it led me to a pit of darkness.

I turned around and leaned back.

The air flowed past me and the edge began moving away.

What should I say when I see them again? Thank you? Sorry? Or maybe I will never see them again.

I'll never know. My body hit the ground.

* * *

It was surprisingly soft, the ground that is. I pushed myself up again and looked around.

I had fallen 30 feet or so onto a pile of snow. It was a ledge right under the cliff. There are two ways I can go, behind me, the cliff.

Or in front of me, a cave.

After all that despair, I was more than ready to head backwards, but for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to.

Something saved me again.

The third time my life was saved. I didn't believe that a ledge would be so conveniently placed right below where I jumped, if I had moved 10 feet to the left or right I would've plunged to my death.

Something protected me again.

I forced myself up and began walking towards the cave. I felt that same pull in my chest. I walked down the deep dark tunnel.

I ended up somewhere special. How should I describe it? A sacred ground? A holy sanction?

Or maybe a graveyard.

The room was pretty big, enough to fit a few hundred people inside with space to spare.

There were glowing crystals placed in random places around the room, making them seem like they were naturally there. The ground was ice, this was probably some sort of underground lake a while back. At the center of the room, there was something stabbed into the ice.

A bronze sword. It was by no means pretty, it was rusty, old, and there was dust and cobwebs on it. But even so, I could feel power radiating from it.

The fact that a few skeletons laid around it also re-enforced the fact that it was no ordinary sword. The skeletons had parts of their bodies shredded.

Normally, I wouldn't dare touch it, but I didn't feel scared whatsoever. I felt surprisingly calm, not even batting an eyelash as I stepped on the bones of the dead, brittle from the cold, they shattered under my feet.

I reached for the sword, and I touched it. Nothing special happened for a while, nor did I feel anything out of the ordinary other than the fact that the sword felt warm for some reason.

A few moments later, I heard something. It was like a whisper, or maybe I didn't actually hear it, but I responded anyways.

It was a simple question. _'Do you want to power to destroy your enemies? Or the power to protect your loved ones?'_

A multiple choice question, I always hated these kinds of questions because I wanted more.

"I want both." My childish naivety would always get me in trouble.

But this time, it might've saved my life.

' _You're so selfish.'_

"I'm only 10 years old, yet I've lost too many things already, I'm looking death in the eye right now, at least let me be selfish this one time."

' _Good answer, you're the one.'_

The sword glowed and it cracked. The ugly, plain bronze shell shattered and fell to the ground, underneath was a beautiful sword. It was a thin long sword around 3 feet long, 1 inch wide and half an inch thick at its thickest point. It begins wider at the point where the handle and blade meet and gradually becomes thinner, the cross guard had a very unique design that curved towards the tip.

At the center was an orb that radiated energy. I asked no questions, I wasn't surprised either, for some reason, as if I had expected this. I pulled the sword out without even trying and held it up.

It looked heavy, so heavy I would get crushed under its weight, but it felt like as a feather, so light that if I let go, it might dissolve in thin air.

The orb was glowing green. The vibrant and pure green of the trees and grass in late spring.

A gust of wind blew past me and I screamed. Information, memories, emotions, faces, pictures, scenes, places.

Everything I have ever experienced from birth until now, everything flowed back to me.

Including their faces, their bodies, their wounds.

Their blood.

It took no more than an instant as those memories flashed into my mind. I suddenly felt calm.

Those bastards that killed my parents and my master. They are gone, I doubt I'll ever be able to find them. I needed to put those past me, they helped me grow stronger.

What mattered right now, was how I can prevent that from ever happening again.

I laughed at that thought. I matured in an instant, didn't I? It doesn't feel like I'm a kid anymore.

A kid doesn't protect, they are protected.

I'm sick and tired of being a kid.

I walked out the cave and to the edge and jumped up. I flew upwards and landed on the edge where I had jumped off. I didn't jumped 30 feet, that's impossible. I flew.

I closed my eyes. I could see with my eyes closed. The wind blows constantly over the land and everywhere that the wind touches, I could see.

I began walking towards the village, letting the wind guide me. To my left, a crevice in the ground that reaches miles below. To my right, a danger beast the size of a tree roaming the woods. Behind me, the valley where I found my new hope and in front, the village that I will protect with my life.

I could also see hunters searching the forest for me, a group of them heading in the direction of the danger beast… Ah, that's right, why did I come out here in the first place? To prove myself.

I made a beeline towards that danger beast and it quickly entered my sight.

The danger beast looked like a bear had an affair with a unicorn. It was the size of a tree with a horn on its forehead, looking as sharp as a spear, it's teeth were as large as kitchen knives and looked 100 times more dangerous. Let's not even talk about it's claws.

I approached it with no fear whatsoever. I felt like I could take on the world right now much less this fluffy overgrown teddy bear. It turned to me and roared before charging.

I jumped up and stopped in midair, watching as the bear plowed into a tree, knocking the tree over. I felt a drain on my stamina. I let myself go and began falling, my sword glowing green and I plunged it into it's heart.

I sat on the beast absolutely exhausted, it seems that flying takes a lot of energy. The hunters were nearing my position, so I think I can safely lose consciousness now.

I looked up to the sky and felt the wind blow past me, I thought about two things, how the wind is no longer cold and how my life had changed in the past half an hour.

The hunters found me asleep, on top of a dead Danger Beast the size of a tree, with my sword still in the heart of the beast.

* * *

I woke up sometime later, in the elder's house. I opened my eyes and immediately someone shouted that I was awake. Before I could sit up I was surrounded by multiple people including the elder, some hunters, my friends Sayo and Ieyasu, as well as some villagers.

The elder stepped up to my bed.

"How are you feeling?" He asked. I smiled, the elders was always such a caring person. He's been taking care of me ever since I was brought here by my master.

"Never been better." I said.

"What happened? How did you kill that beast all by yourself without a single scratch? And also, where did you get that dangerous sword?" It all came rushing back to me, the sword.

"Where is my sword?!" I yelled suddenly. Everyone jumped in surprise, the elder put his hand on my shoulder to calm me down.

"It's still in the beast, we felt that it was dangerous and didn't dare to touch it. We carried it back while it was still stuck in the beast and left it in the storage. Now it's your turn to answer the question, where did you get that sword?"

I told him and everyone there the story. Obviously leaving out the fact that I was trying to commit suicide and instead replaced it with 'slipped and fell'. Immediately something felt off about the adults, the all looked at me with wonder, including the elder.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

It was the elder that replied.

"That is part of a legend in our village, it is said that a thousand years ago a man wielding the power of nature itself came to this place. The village at that time was under attack by a hoard of First-Class Danger Beasts and was on the brink of destruction when the man came and slayed a hundred beasts by himself. But in a battle against the only Ultra Class in the hoard, which wielded lethal poison, the man defeated the beast but was wounded and dying. During his last moments he fell down a valley and it is said that the power he wielded was lost in the valley to never be found again." The elder explained.

"How did you manage to find it?" He asked.

I explained the pull I felt, and how I followed my guts and it led me to the cave.

"It appears the sword has chosen you as its rightful owner after a thousand years. Seems like there had been few that found the place but failed to obtain the power."

He smiled at me proudly, so did everyone else in the room. Except for Ieyasu who seemed to be a bit jealous.

"We should throw a party!" Someone shouted. Everyone cheered in agreement.

Before I knew it I was being carried out of the house by many people, I put a smile on as I enjoyed the warm atmosphere on this cold winter day.

But deep down, I knew this would not last long, something was about to happen and it won't be something worth celebrating.

This sword will lead me down a bloody path, its name carved into my mind.

The Blade of Tempest - Shinatsuhiko

* * *

 **Hey Guys, I'm back. Well, for those of you reading for the first time, nice to meet you!**

 **First of all, disclaimer,** ** _I do not own Akame Ga Kill and hopefully this is an original idea for a teigu_** **. I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter, and I think I might make my other chapters longer as this is merely the introduction to the story.**

 **Please give me some feedback, good or bad on how I am doing and how I can get better. Also, I don't care if you flame me as long as the feedback tells me something about how I can get better. Thank you all again and I hope you enjoy this fanfic.**

 **Latre- BzS**


	2. Chapter 2 - The Pain of Failure

**Sup guys, and girls, this is BzS here, and sorry for this.. whole paragraph.**

 **Before we get to the second chapter, I would like to thank you for your support and your reviews. This is actually my first online thingy and to have good reviews and favs and followers makes me really happy, so I wanted to thank all of you.**

 **Also, to answer a question I was asked, I am going to be following the anime storyline with a few tweaks here and there, maybe add in my own little group of antagonists.**

 **That's enough of me talking, Enjoy!**

* * *

 _-Time skip – 7 years later –_

I reach up and grabbed onto a ledge sticking out of the wall, pulling myself up I placed my left foot firmly onto a different ledge.

Usually people will start feeling their hearts beat faster when they are a few hundred feet off the ground, climbing a rocky wall with no protection from falling at all, but I really don't mind. Even if I do fall I'll slowly drift to the ground anyways.

Today is my 17th birthday, it's been 7 years since I found Shinatsuhiko and I have been training day and night, sometimes even coughing up blood.

So why exactly am I scaling a cliff on my birthday?

Because of this bird asshole. As I thought that, I pushed off the ledge and flew up a few feet, flipping forwards and landing on my feet. I was standing in a nest the size of a large living room, it was made up of branches and even a few small trees. But that wasn't what caught my eyes, what pissed me off was what was in it.

There were many dead bodies, ripped up and dismembered, those whose faces were still recognizable were filled with fear or despair.

I recognized each and everybody, because they were hunters and villagers from my village. Through my sixth sense, 'eye of the storm' I named it, I saw a huge bird like creature flying towards me, I turned and narrowed my eyes at it.

This danger beast had left humans alone, going after smaller danger beasts and wild life, but for the past three days, it has been attacking our village, taking either a villager or hunter with it every time it attacked.

I don't know it's reason, nor do I care, all I know is that it's going to die by my hands today.

As it neared me, I noticed something in it's talons, my eyes widened.

In its talons was Ryou, the wife of one of the hunters and a chef of a restaurant. I knew her personally, often going to her restaurant and she took really good care of me. Tears rolled down her face as she sobbed silently.

"Ryou-san!" I yelled. She looked up and saw me, her eyes full of fear and disbelief that slowly turned into hope.

"Tatsu-chan! HELP ME!" She screamed in desperation. "I don't want to d-"

She wasn't able to finish. The danger beast tightened its talons and she was crushed under the pressure, her blood rained down on me.

My eyes widened in shock before it narrowed with hate.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

I pulled out Shinatsuhiko and stabbed it into the nest, a miniature tornado formed around me. The danger beast squawked and tried to fly away, but the tornado pulled it back. I pulled the sword out and jumped at it.

"BURN IN HELL!" My sword glowed a light green and I swung it at the danger beast, an arc of wind flew at it and sliced through it's wing. I flew above it and kicked it down.

As it crashed into its nest I threw Shinatsuhiko at it and it pierced through the beast, pinning it down.

Without Shinatsuhiko, I also fell down, using the momentum to drop kick it's head, crushing it under my feet. I could feel my foot being drenched in blood but I couldn't care less. I pulled my sword out and sliced off it's other wing, even though it was already dead.

My eyes watered and I looked up at the sky.

'I'm sorry…'

* * *

A funeral was held the next day for Ryou and all the other victims.

Tatsumi had dragged the remains of the danger beast back to the village, he also had a bag containing Ryou's head. Everyone who had their hopes up were crushed with one look at Tatsumi's face. Taiki, Ryou's husband and a brave adventurer, had to be held back from hurting Tatsumi.

Tatsumi left Ryou's head with the Elder and went back into the forest.

He returned later with an unbelievable amount of dead danger beasts.

That night, they burned the body of the bird and ate the others.

Tatsumi watched Ryou's head lower down into the grave with eyes filled with regret.

The Elder approached him after it was over with a serious look.

"Tatsumi, I have a request for you." Tatsumi didn't respond, he just looked at the ground.

"It regards the survival of this village." His head shot up with an incredulous look.

"What do you mean?"

"I need you to go to the Capitol to earn money for our village, I have sent Sayo and Ieyasu already but I need you to go too. The Capitol has been taxing us heavily and we no longer have enough money." The elder said.

Tatsumi looked away.

"But… I…" He didn't need to say anymore for the Elder to understand.

"Tatsumi!" He shouted loud enough for the whole village to hear. Tatsumi looked up surprised, this was the first time he had ever heard the Elder yell.

His voice softened.

"You are the best warrior we've ever had, just because you have failed once doesn't mean anything. Learn from this Tatsumi, become stronger so that you will be able to protect those you care about, prevent this from ever happening again, I'm sure Ryou wouldn't want you to beat yourself over her death and I'm sure she wants you to become a strong young man who can defend and protect."

Tatsumi was shaking, not in anger. Tears were flowing down his cheeks.

"Once? ONCE?!" Images flashed through his head. His dad, his mom, his master, Ryou, all the other villagers.

"I failed once FOUR GOD DAMN TIMES ALREADY! I'M SICK AND TIRED OF THIS!" He yelled.

He was angry, so angry he might lose control, but he couldn't care less right now.

'7 years, I spent 7 years training and this is where it brought me.'

Absolutely nowhere.

"What have I been doing for the past 7 years?" He whispered. That's when Tatsumi felt his check burn and his body falling backwards.

He landed on his back and held his left cheek. It stung.

"IF YOU GIVE UP NOW, WHAT DID RYOU DIE FOR?!"

Taiki, Ryou's husband, stood over him, his arm stretched out. His eyes were burning with anger, but a closer look revealed tear marks.

"Tatsumi, do you want me to ever forgive you?" I looked away. I don't deserve to be forgiven.

"Good, you don't have the right to be forgiven." He said in a deep voice. "You will only earn that right when you succeed in saving this village." My eyes widened.

"Ryou is dead, it's your job to make sure she did not die in vain." Daiki said without pausing.

"Make the memory of her into a fuel to protect others, that's the least you can do to atone."

It was no more than a whisper, but it was carved into Tatsumi's mind.

With that, Taiki walked away. Tatsumi stared at the ground with his bangs covering his eyes.

"Tatsu-" The Elder began but he was cut off.

"I accept the request, I will go join the Imperial Army and save this village." He said, pushing himself up.

His eyes were filled with new determination.

"I will leave tomorrow."

* * *

Morning came quickly and I found myself already at the gate of the village. My backpack filled with clothes and Shinatsuhiko strapped on my back. The elder and the whole village came to see me off, the elder stepped up to me and handed me a little statue carved out of wood.

"Now Tatsumi," The elder said. "Here's my last parting gift. When in need…"

"Sell it, right?" I cut in.

"NO!" I laughed.

"This is serious Tatsumi, when you're in need, keep it near you and God will surely help you." I smiled and thanked him.

I bowed and thanked everyone in the village before heading down the road, with everything I know behind me, I headed towards a new world. I cannot imagine what it will be like, my heart is pounding in my chest, and even though it is scary I can't help but get excited. What will the Capitol be like? I shook my head, I need to remember my goal, I will not let Ryou's death be in vain.

Night came quicker than I could have imagined, I gathered some wood and set up my camp, placing a bird like danger beast as large as me over the fire.

I looked up at the sky, wondering how my life will change when suddenly, the wind showed me a large group of bandits that had surrounded my camp. I stood up and walked past the fire.

"You can all come out now, I know you're there."

Around 20 men, all armed with swords, chains, axes and clubs came out of the darkness. One of them, holding a huge axe and the only one without a bandana on, stepped forward and smirked at me.

"Well aren't you alert, how did you know?" He asked with a smirk.

"The wind told me." He and the rest burst out laughing while I just stood with no emotions.

"That's a good one, did the wind also tell you how strong we are?" I smirked.

"Strong? Not at all, I don't need the wind to tell that you guys are about as strong as the Bird I killed 2 days ago, combined."

They all roared in anger. The leader yelled some threat before charging at me. I don't need my sword for this. I got into a combat stance and waited, in seconds the first one came charging at me with a sword, I sidestepped his overhead chop and disarmed him easily before I stabbed him in the leg with his sword.

Then 3 others came together but I just ducked and dodged their attacks before crippling them with a stab to the leg, arm and shoulder. One by one they came while the leader stood behind them, shouting out commands, but I just took them down, one by one without killing them.

In a blink of the eye, the leader was all that was left.

"You all are useless, the next time we find some women, they are all mine."

At that, I looked down and my bangs covered my face, finally pulling out my sword. He charged at me but I just sidestepped his chop, ducked his slice and dodged his stab before plunging my sword into his right shoulder, and then chopping off his right arm. He fell to the ground screaming in pain. I looked at him with hate filled eyes.

"You will pay for your crimes." I said before stabbing my sword into his heart.

Hm? I just killed a fellow human being, but for some reason, all I feel is an odd feeling in my stomach that made me want to puke, but that's the same feeling as when I kill any animal.

I didn't feel any regret.

I turned and glared at the other bandits.

They all had a look of horror before they all started screaming and running away in panic and in pain. I went to my fire, made a torch and burned his body. I suddenly remembered my dinner.

"Oh god damn it, how am I supposed to eat this now." I said when I saw how burnt it was.

I sighed and I looked up at the sky, wondering how my life will change, I just sat there thinking. Before I realized it, morning came and my journey continues.

* * *

 _-Time skip – 1 Month later –_

~Travelers POV~

We are almost at the Capitol. Even though we know what kind of place it is we have no choice but to sell our goods there, it is a huge city with rich people and we must take this risk if we never want to come here again. I thought in silence as I stared in the general direction of the famous, Capitol.

Suddenly, the ground in front of me exploded and fear filled my heart.

"I-I-IT'S AN EARTH DRAGON!" The First-Class Danger Beast charged at us as we both screamed in fear and panic when suddenly a shadow flew above us and past the Earth Dragon. Moments after, the right arm of the Beast fell onto the ground and the shadow revealed itself as a teenage boy.

"First-Class Danger Beast, the Earth Dragon. A worthy opponent." He said. The Beast turned towards him and tried to crush him with its arm.

"You're angry huh?" He said and in a blink of an eye he was above the beast and floating in midair.

"It's over."

He swung his sword and I thought I saw movement in front of him, before I can wonder what it was the beast split in half diagonally from its waist to its left arm. The boy came down way too slow to be normal and landed in front of us. A teenage boy had just soloed a First-Class Danger Beast in less 15 seconds.

* * *

 **I know, I know, cliché anime motivations aside, I hope you enjoyed.**

 **I will be releasing the Chapters for Story of Memories really quickly because I just have to re-read and do some quick grammar edits. But this story is going to be semi-revised/re-written, so that will take some time and planning. It's the last 2 weeks of school so, it will be slow updates, but once we hit the summer I should be able to pump these chapters out.**

 **Anyways, that's enough, thanks for all the support and concern, really appreciate it.**

 **We Out, Latre - BzS**


	3. Chapter 3 - Darkness of a Paradise

**~Tatsumi's POV~**

The Earth Dragon was not as challenging as I thought it would be, I thought a First-Class Danger Beast would be stronger, maybe it had underestimated me because I am a human, whatever. I slowly drifted to the ground and immediately collapsed on my knees.

Tsk, flying takes so much concentration and energy, my limit is around 1.5 minutes and I won't have enough energy to fight afterwards. I sighed as I pushed myself to stand up again, disappointed I only improved my air time by 5 second in the past 2 months. It took 7 years to get to where I am right now. The travelers I had saved ran at me.

"Thank you so much for saving us, I can't believe you killed that monstrosity all by yourself. Can you tell us your name?" I smiled.

"My name is Tatsumi and it's all good, are you guys okay? Is anyone hurt?" I asked. The second merchant came up to shake my hand.

"All thanks to you, we aren't hurt and we didn't lose our merchandise. How can we repay you?" He asked. I thought about it for a second.

"You guys are going to the Capitol to do business right?" I asked, they nodded their head in response.

"I would appreciate it if you spread word of this experience so I have a better chance of getting recruited into the army." At that they frowned and I had a bad feeling.

"You are going to the capitol to join the army?" The first merchant asked. I nodded.

"I come from a village in need of money, I need to get into the army as fast as possible."

"The Capitol is not the kind of place you think it is, it's full of monster much worse than the one you just defeated." He said. I was confused for a moment.

"By monsters you mean…"

"The people, humans with the heart and mind of monsters far worse than what you have faced." The second merchant said seriously.

I frowned, it seems I can't let my guard down even in the Capitol. I turned away from them.

"Thanks for the advice, I will be careful. I wish you good luck and I hope you make it out alive and will never come back." With that said, I began walking down the path towards the place I've dreamed about for a month and the land supposedly encased by darkness.

* * *

 _\- A few hours later -_

Nothing could prepare me for what I'm currently experiencing. A city, larger than the mountain range surrounding my village, a huge building lays on the top of a mountain of houses. People everywhere you look, buildings that came in many different designs and sizes. I've never seen anything like this, even in my dreams. I was just told that this is a city of pain and suffering, but to me it seems like paradise beyond imagination.

"Wow, so this is the Capitol…" I was so shocked my surprise didn't come through.

I shook my head and tried to act less surprised than I actually am, I looked around. I noticed something, even though the atmosphere is cheerful, I've never seen so many frowns. I decided to ignore everything and head towards the barracks. What I didn't notice, was a blonde that followed me.

The barracks was full of people, all around my age or older. It was several floors tall and very large, but it didn't seem like it. I waited in line for a long time before I finally got to the guy in charge, he looked very bored and extremely annoyed, like he wanted nothing more but to kick everyone out and go drinking.

"So you want to join too huh? Here, fill out this form and give it to me later." He said without even looking at me. I skimmed the form real quick.

"So… I'll be starting in the infantry?" I said, annoyed. He looked at me with an 'are you an idiot' look.

"Of course." My eyes twitched. I was going to yell at him but stopped myself. I won't get anywhere with this. I just turned around and walked out. I just stepped out the door and walking down the street when a blonde stepped in front of me. She smiled brightly.

"Hi! You seemed troubled, want my help?" She leaned forward a bit and I had to avert my eyes with a blush.

"What do you want?" I asked once I calmed down.

"You're from the country and wants to join the army in hopes of making a name for yourself right? I can help you, I've got connections." She said with a smile. I narrowed my eyes a bit.

"And why exactly do you want to help me? What do you want in return?" She smiled mischievously.

"Let's talk this over some booze."

* * *

 _-A few moments later-_

Before I knew it this blonde had dragged me to a nearby restaurant and guzzling down bear like it's water. I sighed.

"Now can you tell me what you want?" She slammed her mug on the table and smiled.

"That's some quality stuff. I want nothing more than to help out someone in need. Now I know this guy in the military and if you give him some money, he'll get you in real quick." I raised my eyebrows, this doesn't seem like someone from a place with monsters in human form, I don't trust her. But what if she can help me?

"Here." I said and put down a whole bag of cash. The blonde's eyes nearly popped out. "I got these from collecting rewards for killing Danger Beasts. If you promise to help me 'convince' this guys, I'll give this to you as payment."

I could see dollar signs in her eyes as she nodded. She went to grab the money but I pulled it away.

"No, not yet. You get half right now and half later when you show me that I'm in the military." She frowned but nodded. I split half the money into another bag and gave it to her.

"I'll be waiting right here." She nodded and bolted off.

I waited, and waited, and waited. Night came and the bar tender came and told me he's closing the restaurant. I sighed. I knew this would happen and now I'm down half my spending's. That women. I went out on the street and decided that sleeping out on the street would be better, I need to save as much money as possible. I sat down at the corner of an alley and closed my eyes.

Moments later a carriage pulled up in front of me and a little girl stepped out. I looked and saw that she wore a very fancy dress, even though she was around 12.

A rich girl huh? Wonder what she wants. She came up to me with her guards behind her

"If you have nowhere to stay, do you want to come with me tonight?" I looked at her oddly, why would she randomly invite people home? The guards probably saw that look on my face and informed me that she couldn't leave people like me alone. I smiled, I didn't know this city had good people too.

I was brought to this huge, fancy house. The inside was decorated with a lot of expensive looking stuff and I suddenly felt nervous and out of place. I introduced myself to the parents of the girl, whose name is Aria, and they welcomed me. That night I told them all about myself and my circumstances, I ate a great dinner and went to the balcony with grateful thoughts, it's been so long since I've been this relaxed.

One of the guards of Aria found me on the balcony looking at the sky and asked me what was wrong. I asked him what was on the mountain in the distance.

"That's the palace that lies at the heart of the Imperial Capitol." He explained. I was amazed, the palace was so huge and majestic.

"So that's where the Emperor, who rules this Capitol, lives?" The guard frowned.

"You're wrong, don't tell anyone I said this, but the ruler isn't the Emperor." I looked at him.

"There is an Emperor, but he is but a child, the real ruler controls the Emperor from the shadows. The prime minister." My eyes widened. That means the one that has been taxing my village so much is actually the Prime Minister.

"Don't tell anyone I told you, or else I'm in danger." I nodded. He left me to think about how to deal with the reason I came, money and also how I'm going to find my friends. I decided to put that aside and rest for tomorrow. Of course, I wasn't going to get it.

* * *

 _\- Time Skip – Midnight –_

I was dreaming about a girl with long black hair when I woke up to a blast of killer intent. I jumped out of bed and grabbed my sword, walking into the hallway. A few guards were running down the hallway yelling "Assassins!", "Protect my lady!" and a name I'll never forget, Night Raid.

I stopped one of the guards in his path.

"What is going on?!" I yelled. He looked at me with eyes full of fear.

"It's Night Raid, a group of famous assassins that have been killing upper-class citizen's people, high ranking executives and many other people. They are mindless killing machines!" He yelled before running past me. I ran down the hallway and came to a window. I looked out and saw them.

5 people, standing on what seemed like string. I looked down and saw 3 guards running outside. 2 of the assassins jumped down, a girl and someone wearing armor with a spear. Before I knew it, the girl dashed past the men, slitting a guard's throat, the man in armor chucked his spear sending another flying and the last was sniped by the girl standing on the string.

I narrowed my eyes. What are those weapons? They are almost like mine.

I shook my head. I can't think about that now, I need to go find Aria. I closed my eyes and the wind told me that she is heading towards a shed. I ran down the hallway and broke through the window, landing on my knees. I ran towards Aria, who was being guarded by one guard.

"Aria! Wait!" I yelled. Aria and the guard turned around. The guard faced me.

"Perfect, you came at a good time, fend off the enemies while I bring Aria to the storehouse." I was shocked, he basically just told me to fight 5, no 6 people at the same time. All of them must be strong enough to cause this much chaos in the Capitol.

I didn't have time to say anything when I heard someone land behind me. I turned and saw that it was the girl from before, the one that killed a guard in a blink of an eye.

Tsk, I don't have a choice. I pulled out my sword and was on guard. She dashed towards me and I tensed.

"You're not a target." I was caught off guard and she jumped on me, using my head as a stepping stone. I came back to my senses quickly and grabbed her by the ankle and threw her back, she landed on her feet and seemed a bit surprised.

"You're not getting past me!" I yelled. A gust of wind blew by, my eyes widened as I jumped to the left, dodging multiple bullets. The guard fired his gun and was about to kill both me and the girl. The girl ran at the guard and dodged the bullets left and right.

"Target, eliminate." She said and in a blink of an eye, she was in front of him and sliced him in half. She turned towards Aria.

"Eliminate." She brought her sword up but jumped away. The tree to her right split in half from top to bottom.

I frowned inwardly, I guess a sneak attack won't work. I stepped back in front of Aria and got into my stance.

"You aren't getting past me." I said, now more calm. She looked at me confused.

"You're not a target. I don't need to kill you." I frowned at her but didn't move.

"If you get in my way, I'll kill you." She said. I tensed.

"I won't let you kill an innocent."

She then charged at me. I dashed towards her and we crossed swords, she suddenly stepped back and I fell open for a second, which she took no time in trying to cut me. I blasted a gust into her eyes which caused her to stumble for a second, allowing me to get my footing and jump back. She came at me again, this time faster and I ducked her slash and retaliated with my own, forcing her to jump to the left. I sent another blast of wind that knocked her back a little and jumped away.

I stood still and closed my eyes for a sec, in the darkness of the night my sword glowed a gray light. I opened my eyes and swung my sword, sending an arc towards her, it must have caught her by surprise cause her eyes widened a bit and was about to jump left when I sent another arc to her left. She had to stop herself and ducked as the first arc came upon her. It sliced her left shoulder and it started bleeding. She dropped to her knees and stabbed her sword into the ground, holding her left shoulder.

I began walking to her when I 'saw' another person. I jumped away just in time to avoid a punch that would have broken my jaw. I back flipped and landed some distance away from the attacker. I got a good look at her and my eyebrows immediately started twitching. She looked at me seriously and got into a fighting stance.

"You…" I whispered. She looked at me with her head tilted.

"Huh?" I looked up at her, furious.

"GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK!" I yelled. She got a good look at me and started laughing.

"Hah, it's you!" I am getting so annoyed. The girl on the floor looked at the blonde, whom she called Leone, and asked if she knew me.

"Yeah, I told you Akame, this afternoon I found an outsider and tric - convinced him to give me some money. Which was spent to get more meat." The girl, Akame, looked at me with thankful eyes for a sec before returning to a monotone look. The blonde also got a serious look.

"Young man,"

"Tatsumi." I cut in. She looked at me.

"Tatsumi, you said she was innocent didn't you. But can you say that after seeing this?" She said as she walked past me and towards the storage house. She blasted the metal door open with one punch and the door opened to a sight that destroyed my image of the Capitol.

Death. The storage room smelled like rotten flesh, it was full of dead carcasses of humans, body parts without skin, bones, flesh. Hanging from the ceiling was…

"Sayo? Is that you?" I said in disbelief. Leone grabbed Aria who tried to sneak away. I was still in shock when I heard my name, I looked to the left. Inside a cage, Ieyasu. He was barely recognizable, his whole body covered in red and purple spots the size of fists, his nails were gone and bleeding, he was missing teeth and had bald spot.

"Ieyasu! What happened?!" I yelled at him. His face covered with tears, and blood.

"That bitch, that bitch offered us a place to stay a few days ago when we arrived. We ate dinner and blacked out, when we came to we were here. AND THAT BITCH, S-SHE TORTURED SAYO TO DEATH." He choked out and fell to his knees in tears.

I stood in place, trying to comprehend what was going on. I heard Aria, the bitch ranting about how we were just cows from the country and she could do whatever she wants, how Sayo pissed her off but I didn't listen. My eyes were red from rage and the wind outside picked up. Leone glared at Aria at the end of her rant and told Akame to kill her.

"Wait." They stopped and turned to me.

"Are you still going to –"Leone didn't finish her sentence, she couldn't. I stood, within a small tornado, walking towards Aria.

"I will kill this bitch." I said before arcs of wind flew from the tornado towards her, she didn't have to time to scream as she was sliced to bits and blew to who knows where. I closed my eyes and the tornado subsided.

I freed Ieyasu from his cage, but he collapsed in my arms. Tears were streaming down my face as he smiled.

"T-that was so awesome Tatsumi… S-Sayo n-never gave in-to that b-bitch…" He raised his arm with all his willpower. "So ma-s-ster Ieyasu must have… cool en-ending too…"

That was all he could say before his arm went limp. Tears flowed down my face, I've failed again, too weak to protect my friends.

"SAYO! IEYASU!" I screamed in sorrow as I hugged Ieyasu's lifeless body, my voice echoing in the night.

The endless night of pain and failure.

* * *

 **Hey Guys and Girls, BzS here.**

 **So, thank you for the reviews and support, as well as your concern.**

 **To clarify my plan for this story, it's a mini re-write. The first parts will have minor changes to fit in with how I plan for the ending to go, so yeah, there will be some minor changes and I need to plan them out which is why I haven't been able to pump these out like I have with Story of Memories.**

 **But I promise, once I get past the planning, the chapters previously released will start coming out in quick succession.**

 **Once again, thank you all, and have a nice day!**

 **We Out, Latre - BzS**


	4. Chapter 4 - Night Raid

**~Tatsumi's POV~**

I've spent years training in every possible aspect, fighting, killing, hunting, cooking and many more. I've trained hard, many times until I fainted.

"You done with my seconds yet?"

"I want seconds too."

"I want thirds."

"Hurry up noob."

My eyes are twitching, years of training and I'm stuck as a cook for these morons. I sighed. I heard a chomp and my eyes twitched even harder.

"Akame, I thought I told you to stop eating all the ingredients." I said without turning around, the chomping didn't stop and I crushed the potato I had in my hand. I turned around and sure enough, Akame stood there chewing on corn. I chucked a knife right in front of her head and she didn't even flinch.

"I can't help it, the food is so good." I sighed, it wasn't even cooked. How did I get myself in this situation again? Oh yeah, for money.

* * *

 ** _\- Flashback – A week ago –_**

 _Tatsumi had just gotten Sayo down from the ceiling and covered her body, along with Ieyasu's, and placed them side by side. During the whole time Akame and Leone have been debating about Tatsumi._

" _He has potential as an assassin, he killed the girl without hesitation and even managed to wound you even if you had been caught off guard. Not to mention that sword, it might be a teigu. No, it must be a teigu." Leone argued._

 _Akame nodded, even though she was caught off guard it didn't change the fact that she had been wounded and could have died. Also the power that he possessed, even she might have some trouble killing him. Not to mention she felt a sort of connection with him. Leone smiled._

" _I guess it's decided then." She said._

 _Tatsumi was praying for his friends, tear marks still existent when Leone walked up behind him. They were silence for a moment._

" _What do you want?" Tatsumi whispered._

" _We want you to join us." Leone replied._

 _Once again there was silence, after a while Tatsumi stood up and turned to Leone. His eyes had no emotions whatsoever._

" _Are there more?" He asked._

" _Huh?" Leone said confused._

" _Are there more of these types of people in the Capitol?" He asked with no emotions._

 _Leone frowned._

" _Yeah. More trash like this than I can count, we've killed so many already but there is no end to them." Leone replied._

 _Tatsumi stood still, eyes slowing regaining one emotion. Anger._

" _If that's the case, then I just… might…" He couldn't finish and collapsed. Leone was surprised but managed to catch him before his body hit the ground._

 _Guess creating a tornado like that takes quite the toll, I'm surprised he managed to stay conscious this long she thought. Leone picked him up and slung him over her shoulder. She walked back to Akame._

" _Let's go, and he's coming with us." She said, Akame raised an eyebrow but nodded. They proceeded to climb up the mansion, meeting the others who stood on the strings._

" _You're late! What were you guys going?" Mein yelled. "And what is that thing?" She asked when she saw Tatsumi._

" _He's our new friend! He's pretty strong, even managed to wound Akame." Leone explained. The others were a little shocked and looked towards Akame, she nodded with her hands on her left shoulder, which Leone had patched up quickly._

" _Bulatcchi, can you carry him?" Bulat nodded. They proceeded to disappear into the night as soldiers stormed the scene._

 _-Time Skip – Next morning-_

 _I woke up in a room I didn't recognize and instinctively reached for my sword that was still strapped on my back. I got up and walked into the hallway and began wandering with my guard up._

 _The place was huge, probably larger than Aria's mansion, I shook my head, I don't want to remember that bitch._

 _I came across a set of stairs and went down, which led to what seemed like the front door and across from it, a set of doors. I wanted to investigate this place, but that would be too dangerous. As I walked out the door I felt a presence behind me and pulled out my sword. I turned around and met face to face with Leone. She grinned and stepped towards me, my grip tightened._

" _It's okay, I brought you to our base when you passed out last night." She said putting her arms up. The first thing that came to my mind was my friends._

" _Where are they? Where are my friends?" I asked, raising my voice a little._

" _Don't worry, we brought them here because we thought you'd want to bury them." She replied, serious. I relaxed a little. Leone brought my friends corpse and I buried them near the edge of a cliff that I 'saw'. The cliff overlooked the whole forest and was a beautiful and relaxing place._

 _I clenched my teeth. Once again, I failed to protect the ones I cared about. I was too naïve, too slow to realize that no one in the Capitol can be trusted. But one sentence kept running through my head._

" _The_ _life of one in order to protect the lives of hundreds."_

 _I can't fall into depression or else Sayo and Ieyasu would have died for nothing, Ryou would have died for nothing. Their death showed me the darkness of this place, and there's only one thing I can do. But I can't join them yet, I need to make money for my village. I felt someone walk up to me._

 _I turned around and found Leone grinning at me._

" _You have a talent for killing! Why don't you join us?" She proposed._

" _A talent for killing is not something I should be proud of." I replied. She kept her grin._

" _Anyways, I'll introduce you to the others, follow me." She said._

 _I decided this would be a good chance to understand the people in this group and followed her. We headed back into the huge hideout, which looks even bigger on the outside, and went through the set of doors across from the main entrance._

 _Past the large set of doors was a huge open room, with a high roof and a lot of open space. There was only a single, very long table, set in the dead center of the room, with multiple chairs. There were multiple doors within this room._

 _One girl, whom I had never seen before, sat at the table reading a book. She had purple hair and wore a purple dress, also she had a pair of glassed and the book she was reading made me wonder what was wrong with these people. The title was 'Curing 101 – Being an airhead'._

" _This is Sheele, you haven't seen her yesterday because she was killing the mother of the house." I nodded to her and she seemed confused._

" _Who are you?" She asked. Leone smiled._

" _He's the new potential teammate." She replied. Sheele looked me over and smiled._

" _Nice to meet you." I glared at Leone._

" _I never agreed to join you guys." Suddenly, Sheele had a very scary looked. She kept her smile but she tilted her head so that the light reflected off of her glasses, causing them to no longer look transparent._

" _Well, if you don't join us, we will have to kill you since you know the location of our base." A shiver went down my spine._

 _Clearly, nobody in this group was normal._

 _We headed through one of the doors. The feel of the entire place changed in an instant._

 _First it felt tense, but entering this room, which was nothing different from a normal dining hall, gave off a feeling similar to back at the village._

 _Home._

 _I looked around and saw the sniper girl from last night. She sat at the table eating. She wore a pink dress and had pink hair tied in ponytails. She turned to Leone and noticed me, before narrowing her eyes._

" _Leone, what is he doing here?" She nearly yelled. I glared at her, I don't think I like her._

" _Mein, calm down, he's our teammate now." I turned to Leone once again._

" _I already told you, I never said I was going to join you." Mein glared at me._

" _No one wants you to join anyways, no way will anyone like you become a good assassin of any kind. You don't even look that…" She looked me over._

" _Okay, maybe you do look somewhat like a professional, but still." Leone smiled and tried to calm Mein down._

" _Now now Mein, don't get too excited, we will let the boss decide if he's worthy when she comes back." Mein huffed but turned back to her food._

 _We headed into the kitchen, where the girl from last night stood in an apron. At first it seemed like she was cooking, but upon further inspection._

 _I sweat dropped as I realized she was just eating all the raw food. Leone walked over to her and bopped her in the head._

" _Stop eating all the food Akame." Akame rubbed her head before turning to me._

 _I blushed a bit. Yesterday I was too busy fighting her to notice what she looked like. She wore a black, sleeveless mini-dress with a red tie and white collars. She had long hair reaching almost the back of her knees and she was 100% expressionless. But her eyes are what caught me._

 _Her eyes had seen a lot._

 _I can tell, I can feel it for reasons that I don't understand._

 _Akame turned back to Leone._

" _The boss is coming back soon, probably sometime today or tomorrow, we received a letter from her this morning." Leone smiled and nodded._

" _Alright, I will introduce this kid to all the others and come back." Akame nodded and then glanced at me one more time before returning to her business._

 _Namely, eating._

 _We headed out the kitchen and to the back, where a training area of sorts was located. A tall guy with an extremely muscular body was practicing with a bo staff. He swung it around with power and grace, I felt the force from nearly 10 ft away._

 _He seemed to notice us watching and slammed his staff onto the ground, before turning to us with a smile._

" _You're awake! What's your name?" He asked me in an overly friendly manner. He walked up and I shook his hand. But he held my hand even after we finished._

" _He's gay." A shiver ran down my spine as I pried my hands from his grip. He smiled and laughed._

" _Leone, don't give him the wrong idea." He said. I stared at him._

 _He didn't deny it…_

" _I'm Bulat, heard you manage to hurt our Akame, I look forward to working with you." I nodded._

" _Tatsumi, although I don't know if I will be staying for long." He raised an eyebrow._

" _Oh? You haven't decided to join us?" I looked away._

" _I came to the Capitol with a mission, I need to make money for my village. My friends died for that cause, I won't be able to face them, or my village, if I fail." I said._

 _Bulat nodded in understanding._

" _Don't worry, if you join us, you will be paid pretty nicely since you are going to be killing high priority targets for the army, or being paid by citizens to take care of trash." I looked up._

" _Army?" He looked at Leone._

" _You guys didn't tell him?" Leone looked a bit sheepish._

" _We were planning on waiting for the boss for that." He just stared at her, she looked away. " I think I will go take my bath…" She said before shuffling away._

" _In any case, nice to meet you." I nodded._

" _Same." We began talking about my village when I heard a scream in pain. I was immediately on guard._

" _What's going on?" I asked. Bulat laughed._

" _it's fine, Leone probably found Lubbock peeking on her." I raised an eyebrow._

" _Lubbock?" He nodded._

" _The guy from yesterday, he uses a string teigu. He is a pervert so don't mind him." I remember catching a glimpse of him, he had green hair but that's all I remember. But one word intrigued me._

" _Teigu?" He looked shocked._

" _Have you never heard of it before?" I shook my head. He frowned._

" _I think I will leave that piece of information for when the boss comes back." I nodded in understanding, but I was really curious._

 _Teigu's…_

* * *

 _We headed back and I was forced to wait in the large room, with the one table. I assumed it was a meeting room for outside guests, but I doubt there would be guests for a place like this._

 _I found myself lost in thought._

 _So much has happened in a few days._

 _So much pain._

 _So much despair._

 _I found myself getting drowsy._

 _I'm exhausted, without even knowing it, I drifted off into a light sleep._

* * *

 _I found myself in a place._

 _That's the only word I can use to describe it, a place._

 _I was surrounded by a fog, a mist._

 _I felt a pulse in my ear, but I couldn't hear anything._

 _It was like a whisper without sound._

 _A strong wind blew past me and I woke up._

* * *

 _I slowly opened my eyes. I heard voices._

" _Hey, Akame, don't you think his sleeping face is kinda cute?"_

" _Hmm." My eyes snapped open._

 _I found myself laying down on 2 chairs, I probably fell down as I fell asleep._

 _But that's not what caught my attention._

 _What caught my attention is Leone looming over me and Akame, under the table, staring at me._

" _Oh, he's awake." Leone stated with a hint of sadness._

 _I immediately sat up._

" _What do you guys want?" I asked a bit annoyed._

" _The boss is back." Akame stated, pointing to the entrance. I raised an eyebrow._

 _I turned to look at the door and found a women, looking around 30 – 40 years old, leaning by the door smoking a cigarette. She had an eyepatch over her right eye and her right arm was an artificial limb._

 _Leone turned to the boss. I made eye contact with her._

" _He's a new recruit." Leone explained. The women looked at both Leone and Akame._

" _Does he show promise?" Both of them nodded. The women smiled at me and stood up._

" _We are holding a meeting."_

* * *

 _A while later Tatsumi was standing in a very large room, the boss sat in a chair in front of everyone. She introduced herself as Najenda and I told her about my circumstances and Leone bragged about how I managed to injure Akame. The boss was a bit surprised at that, but smiled._

" _So Tatsumi, will you join Night Raid?" She asked. I immediately popped the question I had in mind._

" _I need to make money for my village or else the Capitol might destroy my village for not paying the taxes." I said._

" _That's not an issue, we need money for our army so we are currently like assassins for hire. I can pay you money to send to your village if you join our cause. Also, we are assassinating lesser targets right now, but our ultimate aim is the death of the minister who is the source of the heavy taxation on your village." I thought about it. Money for the village, helping innocent, saving hundreds as well as killing the source of my pain and suffering. Sounds too good._

" _What's the catch?" I asked._

" _You put your life on the line." Bulat said._

" _Any of us right here could die at any time." Leone said._

" _There is a chance that the revolution might fail, even though we'd like to think the chances are slim to none." Lubbock replied. He was a guy around my age, green hair, with red goggles on his head._

" _We kill people." Sheele finished. I stood still for a second. I sighed._

" _I'm going to die if I don't join right? I've been killing things since I was 8 so… I will fit in perfectly." I said darkly with a light smirk.. The mood lightened up a bit._

" _Anyways, we need to test your strength first and train you a bit. I guess Akame, you can train him first. Try not to kill him." The boss said. Akame nodded and I sweat dropped._

" _If, he passes your test. That is." The boss finished. Things are about to get crazy._

 _We headed out to the training ground. Akame grabbed a wooden sword and got into stance. My eyes narrowed._

" _Don't underestimate me, I don't need a handicap." I said before grabbing a wooden sword. She slightly raised her eyebrows before returning to her emotionless state. We both got into our stances and the atmosphere tensed. The air was so thick you could cut it with a butter-knife. A gust of wind blew past and we both charged._

 _We clased swords and brounced off each other, I came back with a swing but she immediately blocked it, retaliating with a side kick towards my head. I ducked under and jumped back, barely avoiding the tip of her sword._

 _I dashed back in and swung my head at her side, but she blocked it again. I followed up with a sweep at her legs but she jumped up and attempted to kick me in the head. I blocked with my arm but I was pushed back a few feet._

 _I gritted my teeth. I was physically stronger, but she was faster and more agile._

 _The battle went on and on. To an amateurs eyes, we were closely matched and the battle would end with whoever ran out of stamina. But everyone there knew, including me._

 _I will eventually lose._

 _She had faster reaction time, and more importantly, experience._

 _I swung my sword sideways in attempt to break her guard, but she parried and I was left open for 1 second. She used the momentum to punch me in the gut, knocking the wind out of me._

 _I fell to my knees and tried to recover but it was too late._

 _I found her sword at my throat. I sighed and put my hands up in defeat._

 _The others began clapping as Akame held out her hands to pull me up. I took it, missing her slight blush._

 _We turned to the group and I was greeted by Najenda, she smiled._

" _You have talent for sure." She said. I smiled. She opened her arms._

" _Welcome, to Night Raid."_

 ** _\- End Flashback –_**

* * *

After that, they accepted me into the group and assigned me to train with Akame. I never thought training meant cooking day after day, and I was the only one cooking. Akame was just eating everything that is edible in the kitchen and honestly, I was getting annoyed.

I stood in the kitchen, preparing a snack for Akame which happens to be a full course meal of a huge variety of meats. When I heard some footsteps. I turned around and found Bulat, Mein, Sheele and Lubbock standing at the doorway with their weapons.

"Where are you guys going?" I asked.

"We just got assigned to a special mission." Bulat replied. I sighed, they are going to assassinate someone and here I am cooking.

They left shortly after and I was left with Akame. After I finished washing the dishes and Akame finished her meal (In like 1 minute), she told me to come with her.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Fishing."

* * *

I found myself at the base of a large waterfall with Akame and 2 baskets.

"So, how are we going to fish without any tools?" I asked, I turned around and immediately looked away with a blush.

"W-what are you doing?" I yelled, when I had turned around she was in the middle of taking her clothes off.

"What do you mean?" I turned and saw that she had a bikini on, and I had to turn away again and calm my heart down. She was pretty cute, I can't deny it even if she seems a bit emotionless.

I turned back to her and asked her again what we were going to do.

"Today, we'll be assassinating the Koga tuna in this lake. Dive into the lake and mask your presence. Wait until the prey comes to you before striking." She said before diving into the lake. A few moments later fish started flying out of the water into her basket.

I raised an eyebrow, this species are pretty rare. I stripped down to my trousers and dived into the lake. I quickly found out it wasn't as easy as I thought, the fish noticed me whenever I moved, but I also noticed that the fish wasn't the only thing that took notice to me.

In the end I only managed to catch half the amount of Akame. I was slightly disappointed in myself but Leone and the boss told me I did pretty well for my first time, I let out a sigh as I watched Akame eat all her fish and still looked hungry. I was not in the mood for cooking so I handed her mine. After dinner, the boss asked Leone about the job that was requested.

"The targets are Ogre, a general of the imperial police and Gamal, an oil merchant. It seems that Gamal had been bribing Ogre with money so that whenever Gamal commits a crime, Ogre can frame an innocent. The client's husband was killed this way. I have confirmed their crimes myself and they are guilty as charged. Here's the payment."

She said before placing a huge bag of coins on the table. I felt that the client most likely suffered many times over to get this much money. The thought of it made me angry and the wind outside picked up.

"Alright, we accept this request and we will bring justice to these two." The boss declared.

"Gamal is an easy target no doubt, but Ogre is highly skilled and is on guard most of the time. The only opening we have to have any chance of killing him is at night when he goes drinking after duty on Main Street." Leone explained. I decided that this was an opportunity to both prove myself and eliminate a piece of trash.

"The Main Street is probably crowded and nearly impossible for someone like Akame who has her face posted everywhere to do anything, and Leone might have trouble killing him without drawing too much attention." I said. The boss raised an eyebrow.

"You're saying you'll take him." She said. I nodded.

"I have an idea in mind and I should be able to take him no problem." I said. The boss nodded in approval and Leone smiled. But Akame.

"Are you sure? Can you kill anyone at any time without hesitation? Last time you swung your sword out of hatred but can you do it again?" Akame asked. I narrowed my eyes and clenched my fists.

"I can, I have suffered the feeling of failure too many times. My friends have died in order to teach me lessons I would never have learnt otherwise, I will not fail to kill this bastard and prevent others from suffering. I will not let their deaths be in vain." I whispered.

"This time. I will not fail, even if it costs me my life."

* * *

 **How's that for a cliff hanger?**

 **Hey guys, BzS here and I hoped you enjoyed Chapter 4**

 **I'm sorry if you think the story is too slow but I felt that some details are very important and can't be skipped.**

 **Also, I've been getting a lot of questions asking if this was an Akame x Tatsumi fanfiction. Well, Ill reveal it in the next chapter ;).**

 **Before I leave, I want to clarify something. The reason that Tatsumi is not good at stealth is because he grew up fighting danger beasts. Danger beasts don't run away in fear when you get near them so Tatsumi grew up as a fighter, not assassin. With that out of the way, I would appreciate constructive reviews and thoughts on the story so far, it will really help me.**

 **We out, Latre - BzS**


	5. Chapter 5 - Blade of Tempest

**~Tatsumi's POV~**

"When you said the Main Street is probably crowded, I didn't think it was THIS crowded." I said with a sweat drop. Here I am, on Main Street, trying not to lose sight of Leone in front of me.

Leone had brought me here in order to survey the area for my mission tonight, at first I thought that the Main Street was going to be a busy place with a lot of people walking around, but I forgot this was the Capitol. I came here only to find the place so crowded I was having a hard time walking without tripping. Leone stopped and turned back to me and grinned.

"Don't worry, at night this place becomes quite the dangerous spot and becomes basically deserted. Ogre comes because he thinks he is strong and no one has the guts to fight him." I smiled.

"Good, that means he is pretty arrogant and has quite a bit a pride, just what I need for my plan." I said. Leone raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Care to share this plan of yours?" I just smiled in response.

* * *

 _\- Time Skip – Midnight –_

I waited in the shadows of a dark alley, with a kid around the age of 8 standing beside me. I watched as Ogre, a tall man in full armor and only one eye, walked out of a bar and seemed a little drunk. I smiled and turned to the kid.

"Alright, you see that tall man in armor over there? I want you to go over there and tell him exactly what I told you to tell him. If you do that, come right back here and I'll give you this bag of money, ok?" I said, holding out a bag of coins.

The boy nodded with a slight smile, and walked over to Ogre as I watched in the shadows. I told the boy to tell Ogre that 'A man dressed in a cloak paid me to tell you that he was waiting in an alley a few blocks down. He said that he challenges you to a fight and to bring as many men as you can because you'll need it.'

If Ogre had any pride he would come alone. I smiled when I saw Ogre grow red in anger and yell something about killing me for underestimating him. The kid came running back with some tears in his eye, I hugged him and told him he did a good job and handed him the money. The kid ran off and I headed towards the alley.

The alley was dark and deserted like a lot of others, but this alley was different. The difference is something no one else would have noticed but to me, it made a huge difference. The wind. Wind blew hard in this alley because of its positioning and it was the perfect place for me.

I saw Ogre stomping down the alley and stepped out of the shadow. Ogre looked a bit surprised but snarled.

"YOU! A TWERP LIKE YOU THINKS YOU CAN CHALLENGE THE GREAT OGRE?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

"I am more than enough to kill someone like you." I said, he yelled in anger before drawing his sword and charged at me, I drew my blade and our blades clashed within seconds. The alley resonated with an audible clang that marked the beginning of our battle.

* * *

 **~Akame's POV~**

We hid above the ceiling tiles and watched as Gamal, a very ugly man walked out of his room in this sick, sick place. I looked towards Leone and nodded at her, she nodded back and the plan was a go. We waited as Gamal came back.

"Ahh, that was good, how about I have another go?" He said to himself. Leone jumped down and held him in a choke hold. I jumped down with Murasame drawn and stabbed him in the stomach and he died instantly.

"Lucky bastard, having 2 pretty girls at once." Leone joked, but I wasn't listening to her. The only thing that was on my mind was Tatsumi, he is strong no doubt but his naivety could get him killed. I knew there was a chance that Tatsumi would die to Ogre and all, but for some reason it pained me.

Tatsumi, don't die.

* * *

 **~Tatsumi's POV~**

The sound of our sword clashing echoed in the alley, he swung his sword extremely aggressively and had a lot of force behind each swing. I parried and blocked but didn't have the opportunity to retaliate, he came down with an overhead slash and knocked me to the ground, the only thing stopping him from killing me was my sword that managed to block just in time. He kneeled beside me and pushed with all his might.

"Who are you? Who sent you? You're part of Night Raid right? Who paid you to do this? It must be recent, was it the wife of the guy I framed last week? Or the kid who parents died by my hands? Or is it the guy whose wife was raped by Gamal and I framed someone else for it. You know what it doesn't matter, I'll kill all of them. AFTER I KILL YOU!" He yelled.

My eyes widened in anger and Ogre was blasted off of me and flew 10 yards away. I stood up, this piece of trash has killed so many, made so many suffer and he was going to pay. The wind increased in force, Ogre stood up and was trying to stay on his feet. In the darkness my blade began glowing again, this time, I held the blade by my chest while I stood sideways with the tip of the blade pointing at Ogre. Suddenly the wind died down and the blade started glowing a visible white.

"Ogre, for all the crimes you have committed, today you will die for your sins! GO TO HELL!" I yelled before stabbing my sword at him.

The glow shot from my sword in a drill shape and the floodgates opened, the wind came back again suddenly with ten times the force. Ogre tried to block the wind drill but it phased through his blade and body, the wind blasted him back 20 yards and slicing off his left arm, right leg and cuts appeared all over his body. A large hole appeared where the wind drill went through him. He died before he could scream.

I breathed heavily and felt absolutely exhausted. I sighed, first mission accomplished, now I have to go report the results. Even though I didn't show it on the outside, I was secretly proud on the inside and for some reason, hoped that Akame is impressed that I killed Ogre without a scratch. I turned around and walked back into the shadows.

I stood in the meeting room with Akame and Leone, the boss sitting on the chair in front of us. Akame and Leone had already been in the room when I came and I gave my report. The boss smiled.

"I congratulate you on completing your first mission, you did well killing Ogre and coming back without a scratch." I smiled at the praise.

"The training I've been doing the past 7 years has paid off." I said. Akame suddenly appeared before me and reached towards my shirt to which I jumped back immediately with a blush.

"W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I yelled.

She looked at me indifferently and signaled Leone something. Leone grinned and grabbed me from behind. I blushed even harder. Akame came up to me and basically stripped me to my trousers and began looking all over my body. I just stood there with a huge blush and wanted to crawl into a hole in shame. She finished and backed off and for the first time ever, she smiled.

"Thank goodness, I had a friend that died from poison because he was too proud to report his wounds." She said with a blush. "Assassins put their lives at risk all the time and I didn't want you to die."

I blushed a bit and felt ashamed at myself for ever thinking badly of this girl. Leone smiled from behind me.

"Akame grew up as an assassin for the Capitol, she killed hundreds of people by the order of the Capitol but slowly began to realize the darkness of the Minister. She was persuaded by our boss on a mission to assassinate her and has been with us since. She has always cared about her friends, which is why she was skeptical to let you fight alone." Leone explained. I smiled at her and reached out to shake her hand.

"I'm sorry Akame, I shouldn't have questioned you. I hope we can work well together from now on." She smiled back, a smile that warmed up my heart. Leone burst out laughing from behind.

"HAHA, what are you guys going to work on without clothes." My face turned red.

"I-I-IT WAS YOU GUYS WHO STRIPPED ME!" I yelled, she just continued to laugh.

"HA! Like you didn't enjoy it a little, how long are you going to hold her hand?" She said. I looked back at Akame and she was blushing a little and I realized I haven't let go of her hand. I yelled a bit in surprise and dropped her hand, quickly changing back into my clothes. The teasing lasted the whole night. But I noticed something during the interaction. That I felt the same feeling when Akame and I went fishing, the feeling that someone was looking.

* * *

 _\- Time skip – Few Days Later –_

The whole group was running through the forest that surrounded Night Raid's hideout, which had just been discovered. Obviously, that wouldn't be good and all of Night Raid rushed out of base when Lubbock reported intruders that he sensed with his strings. They all split up after Tatsumi told them the relative location of each intruder using the 'eye of the storm', which is what Tatsumi decided to call it.

Akame found 3 by the stream and finished them off in a blink of the eye. Each died with a single cut to the throat and cursed marks all over their body. Lubbock was in a cave and killed the women that was ensnared in his strings. Mein was on a cliff when an intruder jumped out of a bush but was cut down by Sheele, Mein used the pinch to boost her power, sniping an intruder from a mile away. Tatsumi was surrounded by multiple opponent, he stabbed his sword into the ground summoning a miniature tornado that sliced up all of them, while Bulat chopped up the remaining 5 quickly.

They met up in the meeting room after dealing with the intruders when Bulat brought up the question that should have been asked weeks ago.

"Hey Tatsumi, I've been meaning to ask but never got the chance, what's your Teigu's name?" Tatsumi looked at him confused.

"Teigu? What's that? Is that what these weapons are called?" He asked, everyone in the room looked at him incredulous.

"Eh? You mean you didn't know?" Leone asked. Tatsumi shook his head.

"Tsk, I knew you were stupid but this is really pushing the limits of idiocy, you've been using a special weapon for years and you don't know what it is?" Mein said.

"So, what's a Teigu?" Tatsumi asked, completely ignoring Mein's comment.

"A thousand years ago, the first Emperor who created the Empire feared that his kingdom would fall after his death, so he ordered for the creation of weapons that will protect his kingdom for years to come. There were 48 weapons made from parts of Ultra-Class Danger Beasts and forged by the best of the best blacksmiths in the world. These weapons contain the essence of the Danger Beasts and grant special abilities to the wielders or have special attributes. But some of them were lost in a civil war 5 centuries ago."

His eyes widened at the information.

"Since you didn't know about Teigu's we'll have to look through all the Teigus in this book to find the name of yo-"

"My Teigu's name is Blade of Tempest – Shinatsuhiko." Tatsumi replied. They all looked somewhat shocked.

"How do you know?" Sheele asked.

"It told me." He replied, he then explained how he found the sword. They were surprised by my story, even Akame raised an eyebrow.

"For a Teigu to choose its owner. I've never heard of anything like it. Your compatibility level must be over 9000." Najenda said.

 **(I'm so sorry plz don't sue me)**

She began flipping through the book. The room was silent for a while as we waited for the results. She shut the book and looked back up to Tatsumi.

"I couldn't find it." She said. Mein smirked.

"Heh, you probably just made up the whole story and the name." She said. Najenda shook her head.

"I looked through the book twice, there is no Teigu of wind." The room was silent at the revelation.

"A-are you sure? Maybe you missed it." Lubbock suggested. Najenda shook her head.

"No. I'm 100% sure, that Teigu doesn't exist."

* * *

 _\- Time Skip – 2 days –_

"We just got a new mission. Our target is the Ministers relative. He is a horrible man that uses the Ministers name to kidnap women and defile them before beating them to death. He has 5 guards that have been having their share so they are all guilty." Najenda said.

"Akame, Tatsumi. I'm sending you two on this mission."

The room was silent for a second.

"W-wait, this is quite a big job, why aren't we sending everyone?" Lubbock asked.

"A few days ago they discovered our hideout, there is no guarantee this place is safe anymore. We need to switch hideouts. While Akame and Tatsumi are on this mission, we are going to move our hideout further north." Najenda explained.

"But isn't it a bit risky? Tatsumi is still new." Bulat questioned. Tatsumi frowned.

"Bro, do you not trust in my abilities? Akame and I should be able to handle it." He said. Bulat had convinced Tatsumi to call him bro, or handsome but Tatsumi would rather die than call him that.

"Tatsumi, I'm not questioning your abilities, but as assassins we shouldn't take unneeded risks like this." Bulat replied.

"That's enough. I trust in Akame and Tatsumi's ability. Akame is capable of killing multiple people quickly with one strike while Tatsumi can kill multiple people in one strike. They can handle this. Also, according to our intel, the target is heading to the Capitol to kidnap more women, it's the prefect chance to strike." Najenda said.

No body argued after that and Akame and Tatsumi set off towards the targets mansion. They arrived after a while and waited on a hilltop that over looked the road from the mansion to the Capitol. They sat in silence, waiting for the target. After a while Tatsumi broke the silence.

* * *

 **~Tatsumi's POV~**

"That's one of the Teigus right?" She nodded.

"One-cut killer – Murasame, a single cut sends cursed poison through your veins leading to death." She said. There was another moment of silence.

"You want to make a bet? How long it will take to kill all the targets."

"No."

"Come on, it will be fun."

"This isn't supposed to be fun."

"The bet is an all you can eat buffet of meat made by me if you win."

"5 minutes." I sweat dropped.

"I say 10 minutes."

We continued to talk about some topics, but it was mostly just me asking questions and her replying in less than 10 words each time. Before we knew it, our targets came.

There was a carriage with 2 people controlling the horses and the 5 guards behind the carriage, the carriage was moving pretty slowly, slow enough to allow the guards to walk. I pulled out my sword and closed my eyes, the plan was simple, I kill the target and then we go down there and fight the guards.

"The coachmen are not targets, you don't need to kill them." I nodded.

My blade began glowing white and I opened my eyes and swung my sword diagonally at the carriage. A very visible crescent flew towards the carriage and the carriage was sliced in half, the target died instantly, split from the chest. I began running down towards Akame, who was already in the fray and was fighting all 5 of them.

Akame ducked a punch and jumped away from a kick. She slid beneath a chop to the head and rolled out of the way of a foot but got knocked back by a kick which she managed to block with her sword. She landed on her feet beside me. My blade glowed and I fired a crescent at the guards before Akame and I followed right behind. The guards avoided my crescent but one of them were immediately cut down by Akame.

"Eliminate." She said. I was busy fighting one guard, who was dressed differently from the rest.

He was more skilled than the others for sure, I went for an overhead chop which he managed to catch. I immediately went for a kick and he let go of my sword and jumped back. I looked towards Akame and saw that she was just about to kill another guard when the remaining one came from behind her and grabbed her. in response I sent a vertical crescent towards the guard, killing him instantly before I got punched in the gut and knocked back 5 feet.

The guard I was fighting sneered at me.

"Your opponent is me, I will make you regret disrespecting me. You care about that girl huh? I will make sure that I have some fun with her after I break your neck." He said.

At the thought of this guy defiling Akame made me want to send him straight to hell. The wind picked up around me and the guy backed up in surprise. A tornado began forming once again around me and I held my blade by my side with both hands. I swung my sword and the tornado that surrounded me flew towards him in a straight path, growing bigger by the second. He tried to dodge by jumping but instead was sucked into the tornado. The tornado slowly gained a shade of red before suddenly dispersing and blood rained from the sky.

I turned towards Akame who stood there, blood over her face and blade. I smiled.

"5 minutes huh. Guess I'm going to have to stock up on meat." I said.

She smiled back, it might have just been me but...

She had never looked more beautiful.

* * *

 **Yo, sup guys It is BzS here and I hoped you liked this chapter.**

 **Now a lot of you have been asking about the pairing in this Fanfiction and I promised that I would reveal it today. If the last sentence wasn't a big enough hint, and to those of you who are oblivious to the signs of love, the pairing is Akame x Tatsumi.**

 **Honestly, I want to say this is a way underused pairing for some reason. It is my favorite out of them all and I seriously wish there were more around. I hope you Esdeath fans and Mein Fans will continue to read this Fanfiction even if the pairing doesn't fit your likes.**

 **Again, thanks for the favs and reviews. I really appreciate them. And with all that out of the way.**

 **We Out, Latre - BzS**


	6. Chapter 6 - Price for Power

**Hey guys and girls, BzS here.**

 **I know I've said it a lot of times but I just can't emphasize enough how much I appreciate your support and I'm glad that you guys enjoy my fanfiction. It makes me very happy whenever I read a review that encourages me to keep on keeping on and it is an awesome feeling that I have never experienced before and thank you all for that.**

 **Also, I apologize for the use of an overused meme and very cringe-worthy reference. I couldn't help myself. C:**

 **Anyways, heres the next chapter, Enjoy.**

 **We Out.**

* * *

 **~Tatsumi's POV~**

The heat is killing me, I feel like I'm being cooked alive. My arms feel heavy, my knees are weak, and I'm sweating so much my clothes are wet but she just won't stop, this was hell on earth. I wanted to cry for the first time in several months, I'm a 17 year old for gods sake and not your everyday 17 year old, this was worse than any training I've ever been through.

"Are you full yet!?" I yelled at Akame.

She either didn't hear me, or heard me but ignored me for the food. Cooking for her is like throwing food into a black hole, it will never fill up. I want to slap myself for making a bet with her, I've been standing in the kitchen for the past 3 hours just dishing out pounds and pounds of meat, the heat is difficult to bear, the onions and smoke is killing my eyes and she still shows no sign of stopping.

Leone was rolling in laughter at the entrance to the kitchen as Akame finished another plate of meat, the plate so big if she curled up she would fit on it, not to mention it was stacked so high it was as tall as Bulat when set on the table.

"HA! You actually bet against an experienced assassin like Akame about how long it takes to kill something? And you bet in meat? Not to mention a buffet! This is coming out of your budget because I don't think we have enough money." She laughed. Stopping after every sentence to catch her breathe.

I paled at the thought. I'm going to be in debt myself, how am I supposed to send money to my village if she's gonna eat all of it? Akame signaled for another plate and for the next 5 plates, the salt was from my tears.

A goddess by the name of Najenda came and told Akame to stop eating and I swore I would never disobey our boss ever again AND I will never, EVER, bet against Akame. EVER.

"Alright Akame, spare the poor kid. Also, tell everyone to gather in the meeting room. We have a new mission." Najenda said.

Within 10 minutes, everyone was in the meeting room with Najenda sitting at the front. The mood was a bit tense like always, something that I think will never change.

"Our target this time is probably Zank the Executioner. The past few days we've been hearing news about a man that comes out late at night decapitating anyone he chooses." The mood became even tenser at the name, I tilted my head.

"Who's that?" Mein turned towards me.

"What?! You've never heard of him?" I shook my head, beside me Sheele shook her head too. I sweat dropped. She probably heard of him but forgot, typical Sheele.

"He was an executioner for the Capitol's largest prison years ago. But because of the Minister's influence, the number of people he executed increased dramatically. He was cutting off head day after day, week after week and eventually, the begging and screams of the victims drove him to insanity. At least, that's what I heard." Mein explained. Bulat nodded at the explanation.

"He began killing random people after that, eventually he killed a high ranking officer and stole his teigu. He's been on the Capitols most wanted list ever since." Bulat added.

"Do we know which teigu it is?" Lubbock asked. Najenda shook her head. We all frowned.

"What a dangerous guy, how are we going to deal with him when we don't know where he will be?" I asked.

"Our best option is to not go to him, but bring him to us. Tonight we will wait in the district he's been showing up in and wait for him to come for us." Najenda said.

"In order to avoid risking a one on one battle, I suggest we wait in groups of 2." Bulat said.

"And you're with me, Tatsumi. I'll keep you safe." I felt chills down my back. God please help, and yet again, my prayer was answered.

"Yeah, we should. Tatsumi will go with Akame, Mein, Sheele and Leone will be a group and Bulat will pair with Lubbock. Tonight, we will bring this man to justice." Najenda said. Everyone nodded. An idea came to me.

"While we are on the topic, last time I forgot to ask but does everyone here have a teigu?" I asked. Najenda nodded.

"Yeah, knowing this will be good for you. Everyone here possesses a teigu."

"My teigu is Hundred Beast King – Lionel, when activated it turns me into a beast increasing my physical abilities and durability plus grants me heightened senses, it's an awesome teigu and I can beat the crap out of people." Leone explained with a grin, punching her fists together.

"Tsk, I use Roman Artillery – Pumpkin, it gathers spirit energy and expels it in a shockwave, the power increases when I am in a pinch, be grateful I taught you that." Mein said turning away.

"My teigu is Demon Binding – Incursio, it gives me a near-impenetrable armor and also increases my strength, I can also summon a spear called Neuntone, plus it allows me to go invisible for a while." Bulat said with a smile.

"Mine is Infinite Variety – Cross Tail, I am capable of using the strings from this teigu to do basically anything I want it to do, from creating a barrier to choking people to creating weapons, not to mention I can use it to tell when someone is going into the bath so I can catch a glimpse of those heavenly bl-GAH!" Lubbock said before he got punched in the face by Leone.

"Umm, my teigu is Cutter of Creations – Extase, umm I think it has the capability of cutting through anything in existence and umm, oh yeah, it is very hard so I can use it as a shield too." Sheele explained.

"You already know mine, One-cut Killer – Murasame, a single cut sends cursed poison without a cure through the victims veins leading to death." Akame said.

"Many of the teigu's also possess trump cards, it is a very powerful boost to the teigu or the user. They are very dangerous so be aware when fighting against a teigu user. Also, because of the power a teigu possesses, there is an unavoidable rule, when 2 people possessing teigu's fight with the intent to kill, only one can live, no exceptions. Which is why tonight we must be very careful against Zank."

Another question popped into my head after hearing all the abilities.

"So boss, which teigu is the most powerful?" I asked, the mood suddenly changed to a darker one.

"It really depends on compatibility and the skill of the wielder, but in my opinion, it's probably the Teigu of ice. The user is part of the Capitol so we are fortunate she isn't currently here." Najenda said.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"She was ordered to deal with the Northern rebellion, led by the prince of the northern race. He's never lost a battle and is a brilliant and charismatic man. The Capitol sent the wielder of the ice teigu to conquer the north." She explained. There was a moment of silence.

"But, there is a chance you might become more powerful than her." She said. I tilted my head.

"For you to be attracted to a teigu, the compatibility must be extremely high. The higher the compatibility, the more power you can access." She explained. I looked at my sword and thought about how I found it. I felt excited that I might be wielding the strongest teigu and it made me feel proud and confident.

"Anyways, you are dismissed. Remember to prepare for tonights mission." Najenda said before she stood up and walked out.

* * *

 _-Time Skip – Midnight -_

"I guess everyone is scared of Zank huh? No one is out here." I said to Akame.

"Don't let your guard down, you never know who might be around." I smiled to Akame.

"It's okay, I've got my eye of the storm remember?" Akame shook her head.

"Every teigu, no, everything has a weakness. Do not overestimate your own powers, it will lead to your death." I looked at her.

"What's the weakness of your teigu?" I asked.

"First of all, maintenance is a test of patience, preciseness and pressure, if you cut your finger you die. Other than that, in battle, if I don't cut their skin directly they won't be poisoned." I nodded, against an armor type Teigu like Incursio it would be difficult. Or a wooden statue, the elder was right about God protecting me in the time of need, who knew the tactic I read in books actually worked.

"I don't like admitting it but my teigu has a huge weakness." I said. Akame looked at me.

"My teigu is rendered useless in an enclosed space." Akame nodded.

"No wind."

I nodded. We walked around the area in silence and I decided to treat Akame to some food. Som _e_ food. We ate in relative silence when I decided ask the question that had my heart filled with hope.

"Akame."

"Hm?"

"Do you think there is a teigu that can revive the dead?"

"Impossible."

"…"

"…"

"How do you know for sure?"

"Teigus were created because the first Emperor knew he would die. In this world, you only live once. No second chance." I nodded in acceptance.

I knew the answer but couldn't let go of the hope. Sayo, Ieyasu, Ryou, and everyone else is dead, I need to accept it.

They are gone, forever.

* * *

 _-Meanwhile-_

A man stood on the roof of the clock tower, overlooking the whole district. He chuckled in a crazy manner.

"It seems like there are assassins here. Hehehe, splendid, splendid! I love this place, so much violence. Night Raid huh? Whose head should I chop off first?"

His vision scanned each pair and finally landed on Akame and Tatsumi.

"Oh? Eyes without emotions, she must have killed many. Hehehe, I wonder what look would be on her face when I take her head? Hmm? Oh? Eyes filled with pain, passion and… is that arrogance I see? Hehehe, splendid, splendid, this will be fun."

He snapped his fingers.

"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, I wonder which head I shall mow?

His eyes landed on Tatsumi.

"Hehehe, BINGO!"

* * *

 **~Tatsumi's POV~**

We've been waiting for around 5 hours now and I'm starting to get bored.

"I wonder if he's going to show up tonight." I said.

"Just be patient." Akame replied. I suddenly felt a chill and a familiar feeling.

"Umm, wait a second." I said.

"Bathroom?" I froze, but after a second I walked away.

I walked a few alleys down and did my business. I was about to head back when I 'saw' someone behind me. I turned around quickly with my sword drawn and the sight caused me to freeze.

"S-sayo?" I asked, my voice full of hope and doubt.

"Is that you?" I asked. I couldn't believe my eyes, she was dead. But she is in front of me no doubt.

Sayo turned and ran off.

"W-wait!" I yelled and ran after her.

Unbeknownst to me, Akame came into the alley a few moments later, just to find nothing but a deserted alley.

I chased Sayo all the way to a very open area, kind of like an arena. I stood there, no doubt about it, it's Sayo. I smiled in relief that she was alive and walked closer to her.

"Sayo, you're alive! Thank goo-" I was cut off when the wind blew past.

I lowered my head until my bangs covered my eyes. I grabbed the handle to my blade, which was strapped on my back, and the blade began to glow within the sheath. I drew the blade out and released the energy causing a more concentrated wind blade to launch towards Sayo. She smirked and jumped out of the way.

"Hehehe, how did you notice?" Sayo said before she shimmered into a tall old man with a crazy look grin on his face.

"So you are Zank huh? You are way uglier than I imagined." I said. He just chuckled crazily.

"Hehehe, such arrogance, I wonder what look would be on your face when you die?" I glared at him but stayed silent. This guy is going to pay for killing so many innocents. He laughed again.

"Hehehe, you think you can kill me? Splendid, Splendid! This will be so fun." He said.

How did he read my mind?

I saw the eye on his forehead. That's the teigu huh? Guess it grants him the ability to read minds.

"BINGO! Omnipotent Five Sights – Spectator. One of the visionary powers, Insight, allows me to read minds. This teigu grants me observation skills at the highest level. I found you with another one of its abilities, Farsight, it allows me to see – "

I charged up another wind blade and sent it towards him. He smirked and jumped out of the way.

"- from extremely far away and clearly, at night or within a fog. Hehehe, You think attacking me while I talk will help you? I can read your mind and thus know everything you're going to do!" I glared at him.

He began running towards me and I began sending blade after blade towards him.

"You're going to send a blade towards my left to force me to the right and slice me up with the other." He said before he ducked under the blade.

"Now you'll send a gust towards my face to blind me and come up to me and cut me by my waist." He brought up his blades to his face and closed his eyes for a second and opened them before I reached him and blocked by slash, I jumped back immediately but couldn't avoid him from cutting my arm pretty badly.

"That's quite a dangerous teigu you got there. But you can't defeat someone that can see the future!"

I held my arm, trying to stop the blood. I ripped off a piece of my shirt and wrapped my arm up. Meanwhile, Zank was busy ranting on and on about his teigu.

"Hehehe, even if you managed to find a way around my Insight, I've got my Future Sight that allows me to read even the most minuscule muscle movement and grants me the power to see what your about to do. I even checked to see if you had any hidden weapons with my Clear Sight, it allows me to see through objects." Zank explained.

"You talk too much for your own good. Why did you allow me to recover?" I asked.

"Hehehe, I will enjoy the look on your face as I shatter your confidence. The look of fear on your face as I take your head, I CAN'T WAIT!" He screamed maniacally.

I charged at him again, sending a wind blade at him before jumping and flying over his head and sent two more blade towards either side of him, I then boosted myself to land quickly and sent another blade from behind him. He, just turned around and smiled at me before he charged at me, jumping dodging each of the blades.

I clashed swords with him but he had the advantage with 2 blades and even though I managed to keep up with his speed for a while, he kept afflicting minor wounds on me and eventually the minor wounds began stacking up and I blasted a gust into his face but his eyes were closed and he kicked me back. I landed on my feet but immediately dropped to my knees.

"Hehehe, splendid, SPLENDID. IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I'VE GOTTEN THIS EXCITED FIGHTING!" He laughed maniacally.

I closed my eyes. Akame was right, I can't overestimate my abilities. Having boss say that my teigu is the strongest made me think I'm undefeatable. I have spent the last 7 years fighting with this teigu, but have I actually tried to learn its powers or did I just hope it will eventually come to me? I've only discovered new powers when I was emotional or at risk of dying, but I can't improve by depending on those situations.

How can I protect those important to me if I don't improve? If I don't grow stronger?

I thought about Sayo, Ieyasu, Ryou. I can't let their deaths be in vain.

I felt the wind grow stronger, a voice echoed in my head, asking a familiar question. One from 7 years ago.

'Do you want the power to destroy your enemies? Or the power to protect your loved ones?'

'Both. The answer never changed and never will.'

The wind blew past and words popped into my head. I knew what to do.

I stood up and raised my sword above my head. The sword began to glow green as the sky above the arena was filled with dark clouds.

The wind began to spiral around us and we were soon hidden in a funnel of darkness. It wrapped around us, trapping us inside.

"W-what is this? WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Zank yelled. I smirked.

"Why, can't you read my mind?" I said. His eyes widened in anger.

"You… this is your domain? I CAN READ YOUR MIND! IT DOESN'T MATTER!" I laughed.

"Come at me then." I said with a sudden straight face.

"RAHHHH!" He yelled as he charged at me, but before he could do anything he was blown back landing on his feet. Then his face was cut in 2 spots, his left arm was cut in multiple places and his right leg got cut up. He looked at me.

"H-HOW! ALL YOU THOUGHT WAS 'KNOCK HIM BACK' AND 'CUT HIM UP'." I smiled.

"This is my domain, here, I let the wind do the work." I said. He looked shocked before his smiled came back. I glared at him.

"Hehehe, if that's the case. Illusionary Sight." He said and suddenly, before me was Akame. She glared before charging at me, I closed my eyes and heard blood hit the ground.

I opened my eyes and saw that Zank lied on the ground, his left arm sliced off. I snapped my fingers and the funnel around us began to disperse, the sky cleared up. I glared at him and he looked at me in shock.

"Th-that should h-have been the one you cared for the most… w-why didn't you hesitate?" He asked. I just glared at him.

"The same way I sensed you weren't Sayo, the wind told me your body size didn't match what my eyes told me." He just grinned.

"Hehe, in the end, your teigu was superior huh?" He said.

"Th-thank you, the voices… have stopped."

That marked the end of Zank the Executioner. I stood there in silence.

"Also, she would never betray a friend." I whispered before turning away.

I saw Akame waiting at the edge of the arena, seemingly confused. She ran up to me and saw Zank.

"Did you defeat him by yourself?" I nodded.

"What was that funnel? I saw it and came, but when I tried to enter it I would just always appear back where I started." I smiled.

"A new power. I believe that it creates a barrier that no one can enter and no one can leave. Inside, I am capable of controlling the wind with my thoughts, it is my domain, my world." I explained. Her eyes was wide, the first time I've seen her visibly shocked. She then calmed down and looked at me seriously.

"No way a power that strong exists without consequences." She said. I nodded.

"It runs on fuel." I said, she tilted her head.

"Ever since I obtained this teigu at the age of ten, I've remembered everything. From when I was born to right now, I remembered every little detail. As of now, I've used this ability for a total of 30 seconds, and I no longer remember anything during the first month of my life." Her eye's widened in shock.

"I slowly lose memories, Little by little. Until I lose all my memories, and then when I become free of worldly desires and become freed from this world. I shall become the wind."

"I will die."

* * *

 **OH MY GAAAH!**

 **That was good pizza.**

 **Hey guys, BzS here, and how's that for a trump card.**

 **Originally, I wanted to make it so that it can be used 5 times and he loses memories based on how important they were, and the Trump card wasn't as OP. But I was wrote this new ability and was all like, nah, this is wayyy too OP, why not combine it with my original idea for a Trump card make it the new Trump card. One thing led to another and this was the result.  
(Minor ADHD is great for writing)  
Anyways, I added a tidbit to chapter one when he found the sword to fit this new idea so if you want to check it out real quick. (Sry)**

 **Anyways. Thanks for your support, hope you enjoyed the chapter and I wish you all a good day.**

 **We Out - BzS**


	7. Chapter 7 - To Fear Death

**~Tatsumi's POV~**

The battle with Zank was difficult, I was bleeding all over and barely had the energy to walk. Akame dragged me to the edge of the arena and we waited. Surely the others had noticed a huge funnel of clouds that reached the ground, but if they noticed, so did the Imperial Police.

Thankfully, Bulat and the others came before the Imperial Police and I was brought back to the hideout, along with the teigu Spectator. Akame patched me up and I gave my report, I told them all about how the battle went, the abilities of the Spectator and my new found ability. My trump card. Everyone was shocked when I told them about my new power, even Mein, but they became somber when I told them the price I have to pay.

"Makes sense, there is no one who can obtain the power of Gods without having to pay a price. Tatsumi, you are forbidden to use your trump card except in a life and death situation." Najenda ordered. I nodded.

"Anyways, with every Teigu that we obtain, the power of our army grows. I will send the Spectator to our army base right away." Najenda explained.

"I'm guessing collecting Teigus is a side mission for us?" I asked, Akame nodded.

"The more we collect, the more power our army has and the more power the Capitol loses. We need to prepare for the upcoming battle, even though the battle is still yet to come." She said. A question came to me.

"So, is it possible for one person to have 2 teigus?" Najenda froze, before shaking her head.

"No idea, few have tried and they died a horrible death. After those first few, no one has ever dared to try in fear of suffering like they did." She said. I nodded, a single teigu can possess the power of an army. 2 teigus can make one person undefeatable.

"Anyways, I will send the teigu to the headquarters immediately. You are dismissed and Tatsumi, you are to train with Sheele for a while. Sheele, do what you want with him." Sheele just smiled, from my angle, I couldn't see her eyes because of how the light reflected off of her glasses and one thought crossed my mind. What's this airhead going to make me do?

* * *

 _-Time skip – Next morning-_

I was shook awake by Akame who told me to help her make breakfast. I looked at her and sighed.

"What are we going to have for breakfast?" I asked.

"Fried chicken bowl with miso soup." I sweat dropped.

"Akame, who's the chef here?" I asked, she immediately pointed at me.

"Akame, who's the assistance chef here?" I asked, she immediately pointed at herself.

"Akame, does the assistance chef listen to the chef or the other way around?" I asked.

"The assistance chef listens to the chef." I nodded.

"Good, and as the chef I say we are going to eat bread with eggs, plus a fruit salad." I said. She pouted.

"Bu-" I cut her off before she could begin.

"Don't worry, I won't let you starve, you can have 5 servings." I said before walking off.

After a balanced breakfast, which I made sure of, I was led by Sheele to a nearby river. I made sure that I kept track of where we were as I had the feeling that she won't. She gave me a suit of metal armor and I was forced to swim 20 laps in the river. The armor weighed me down I had to swim at an angle against the current to keep balance and not get washed away down the waterfall.

I climbed back on shore after I finished my assignment and I laid on my back.

"Ahh, that was exhausting, you're a slave driver you know?" I said to Sheele, who was sitting on a rock nearby. She tilted her head.

"This is part of the Assassin curriculum that the Revolutionary army came up with. I also have some other things I came up with to train you. Since I don't have any jobs here I can focus on training so don't worry." She said. I sweat dropped.

I knew why she doesn't have any jobs. Last time I was cooking, Sheele offered to help and the result was a Lubbock that went to hell and back. She was such an airhead that when I said 'Can you cut the steak in half' She took out her teigu and threw the steak into the air and began slicing it into a million pieces. It was cool to watch but it wasn't worth the angry Akame.

"Sheele, why did you become an assassin?" I asked. She's a clumsy airhead, but she is for some reason a very good fighter.

"Umm, I grew up in a downtown district within the Capitol. Ever since I was born I was bad at everything I did. Everybody around me called me an airhead and said I most likely had a screw loose in my head. But eventually, I found someone who didn't make fun of me, someone who didn't mind my mistakes, someone who truly made me happy, someone who I called my friend." She explained, I got a bad feeling that something went wrong. And I was right.

"But, one day. I was at her house when someone came knocking on the door, it was my friends ex-boyfriend, and he began to attack my friend in resentment for breaking up with him. He proceeded to strangle my friend, I thought that it was my duty to protect her, that I wouldn't let anyone harm her. I killed the man." She said.

"But the thing is, I was calm, I knew exactly what I did and I felt no remorse. I never saw my friend after that incident. A few days later I killed the friends of the man, who came to avenge him. I realized that the screw loose in my head has made me into a perfect killer, I was so happy. I finally had something I was good at, something I can use to help others. I would rid this place of trash. I became an assassin in the Capitol when the Revolutionary Army recruited me." I sighed.

Everyone here has had experiences I could never have imagined. Compared to that, my experiences seem so little. My drive seems so weak. I looked up at the sky, the feeling when I had when I saw Sayo last night, I fell for a bait that seems so obvious. I know that from last night's experience, I still haven't given up hope. The hope that one day I can bring back the dead and undo my mistakes.

I was deep in thought when Bro, Bulat, burst out of the water laughing, praising me for my improvements. I just looked away and face palmed. Experiences really do change people. Some people change more than other. A LOT more than others.

* * *

A new mission was assigned to us. Leone and I were to go deal with some pieces of trash in the red light district, who were reported to be kidnapping and drugging women, turning them into prostitutes and making money off of them. Sheele and Mein was to find a partner of those people, Tybil, who is a rich land owner and has been helping them expand their drug territory.

And so, Leone and I were standing at the edge of the red light district. Honestly, this place made me sick, the smell here was enough to make one puke. I looked at all the people here in disgust. Leone looked and me.

"Tatsumi, we can deal with this later when we overthrow the Capitol, but right now we must focus on the mission." She said seriously. I nodded. She grinned.

"ALRIGHT! LETS BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF SAME TRASH!" She yelled. "TRANSFORM – LIONEL!"

She was engulfed in flames before it dissipated and she was in her Teigu form, she had cat like ears, a tail, her hair was longer and spikier and her hands became paw–like. She picked me up.

"Alright, let's sneak in there and kill them." I sweat dropped at that, Leone knows the word sneaky as well as I know where the food goes when Akame eats. We sped off at high speeds and ran right past the guards who were guarding our target building. We jumped right through the hole that I made a few hours ago when I scouted out the place. It led directly above the rooms in the building.

I raised the ceiling tile and showed her the place. The room was filled with women, all drugged and dirtied. The room smelled like smoke and sex. It was the worst site I've ever seen and Leone looked just as disgusted. We wait for a while when a man wearing an eye patch and in a tuxedo, along with another man wearing a white tuxedo entered the room.

"Haha, nice, nice. If you girls keep earning money for me I'll bring you more drugs, got it?" The one eyed man said. The whole room responded yes in a far-away tone, like they don't even know what they were asked to do. The man in white spotted a women, shaking and laughing hysterically.

"Heheh, gasp, hehe, more, more drugs." She whispered.

"Hey boss, this one is broken and smells." He said. The one-eyed guy looked at her and shook his head.

"This won't do, get rid of her and replace her with one of the bitches in the slums, they'd do anything for money." He said, the guy in white punched and knocked out the girl before I lowered the tile. I looked at Leone.

"Those were the targets, as the request said they are the worst kind of humans." Leones bangs covered her eyes.

"The girl on the floor, the one that was punched, I knew her from the slums." She said in a dark tone.

"You grew up in the slums?" I asked her, this was news to me. She nodded.

"Let's go, I want to send them to hell as soon as possible." She said, punching her fists together. We found the targets in the next room. We waited above the tiles and when we heard the one-eyed man saying he's going to expand his drug territory, we came crashing down.

"The only place you're going, is a one way trip to hell!" We yelled in unison.

The guards stood up and yelled intruders before bringing up their weapons. I ran at them and my sword glowed a grey light, I sent a wind blade towards a group of three guards and they split in half instantly. I cut them down one after another.

Leone was punching people, ducking and side stepping their attempts to kill her before punching them so hard I could hear their bones breaking. Before long, the only ones remaining were our targets. The man in white brought out his gun, shaking in fear.

"D-don't mess with me! I don't deserve this!" I was upon him in seconds and he split into 2 pieces.

"Go beg the devil for mercy." I said. Leone walked up to the leader and began strangling him. He begged for his life and offered us money, women, drugs. But it only caused us to glare at him harder.

"We don't want anything from you, we want you dead." Leone said before punching him hard in the gut, sending him flying into the wall. Causing the wall to collapse on him. There was a moment silence.

Within the silence, i heard the faint sound of music.

* * *

We were on our way back to our hideout. We walked through a park and I asked Leone more of her background. Apparently, she grew up in the slums and ever since she was young, she would occasionally come across trash and gangs and she would beat the crap out of them, sometimes killing them. The Revolutionary army scouted her out and offered her a teigu, she took a liking to Lionel and has been using her ever since. I quietly listened to her story when I decided enough was enough.

"Leone, go back to the base first, I've got some business to take care of." I told her, she raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? What is that?" I looked at her.

"I need to stock up on meat." I said before walking off into the trees. She raised an eyebrow and continued towards our base.

I walked and walked and finally came into a small clearing. I turned and surveyed my surroundings.

"Alright, you can come out now." I said loudly. Slowly, behind me a guy appeared. Literally appeared out of nowhere, not from behind the trees or bushes, he just came into existence. He was around my height and my age, black hair that spiked backwards, he was wearing a black jacket over a white shirt. He smiled at me.

"How did you know I was there?" I glared at him. He gave off a bad vibe and I didn't like him.

"The real question is, why I couldn't see you or hear you even though you were right behind us the whole time." I said, narrowing my eyes. He smiled.

"Ah yes, that's because of this." He said and pulled out a flute looking object.

"Heavenly Illusions – Tsukuyomi, this flute grants me powers beyond your comprehension." I narrowed my eyes and drew my sword.

"Before we begin, why did you send her away?" He said. I looked at him surprised before narrowing my eyes.

'The fact that he managed to stay behind us this entire time without Leone noticing, even though she has enhanced senses, means he can hide his presence near perfectly. If he could do that in battle, Leone might become a hindrance.'

"I don't need her to defeat you." He smirked.

"That's some confidence you have there, hope you can back it up."

He brought the flute to his mouth and I charged at him, he blew into the flute and music filled the air. Suddenly he shimmered out of existence for a second and I was surrounded by 30 of him the next. The music began coming from each of him, I kept going straight forwards and sliced thin air.

The clones shimmered out of existence and he appeared again, landing on his feet.

"Oh? How can you tell where I am?" He asked with an eyebrow raised. I raised my sword, which glowed a shade of grey.

"Blade of Tempest – Shinatsuhiko, its abilities are beyond your comprehension." I said with my eyes narrowed. He laughed.

"Ha, you turned my own phrase against me. No one has ever done that before." He said. He stopped laughing but kept an innocent smile, one that pissed me off.

Once again he brought the flute to his mouth and everything around me shimmered for a sec when I was surrounded by a hundred blades, floating in the sky. They silently flew towards me one by one and I parried each, they were real blades, I felt the force every time I parried a blade and I was caught by surprise when 5 dropped at the same time. I felt the blades skewer me and pain filled my mind.

Suddenly, the pain stopped and I opened my eyes, the blades were gone and nothing was different. The pain was so real. I glared at him.

"That teigu, it controls my senses. That pain I felt, my mind told me I was being skewered but I wasn't." I said. He smiled and began clapping.

"Perceptive on indeed. Yes, I am capable of complete control over your senses, I can make you see what I want you to see, hear what I want you to hear, feel what I want you to feel, taste what I want you to taste and smell what I want you to smell. I have absolute control over information." He said with a smile.

"Tsk, a bit overpowered if you ask me." I said.

"No, no, no. It obviously has some pretty bad weaknesses if I do say so myself." He said.

"Oh? And what exactly is that?" I baited.

"Heh. Trying to bait out my weakness huh? Now that I told you about my teigu, it's your turn." I narrowed my eyes.

"No way in hell." I said before I sent a blade towards him, running behind it to follow up.

"Rude!" He yelled before he brought up his flute and began playing again, I saw him shimmer and then dash to his right, I dashed to the left and swung my sword. He shimmered into existence, I managed to cut his arm a little.

He frowned and blew into his flute, I caught a hint of dust in the air and I heard something coming towards me before I felt something impact me on my back, I felt the force. I felt myself getting hit by what seems to be punch after punch, I felt the pain and impact.

My body reacted as if I was being hit.

My body jerked around every time I felt like I was being hit. Even though there isn't a force acting on my body, my body still reacted as though there was.

The impacts stopped and I stabbed my sword into the ground, a tornado appear around me, I spun and slashed at him, sending the tornado at him. He looked surprised before blowing into his flute, suddenly appearing to my right with a blade but I knew he wasn't there. He could fool my eyes but he can't fool the wind. I ran towards the location of my tornado and slashed at the air, I felt myself getting slashed behind my knees and I fell the my knees.

I felt a stab through my heart.

The world went black, even if it was for a second.

My eyes widened as I gasped for air. I fell onto my stomach as the pain disappeared

I forced my self onto my knees and looked up. I found him on one knee, his stomache bleeding with a gash and his arm and left leg cut up a bit. He glared at me.

"A teigu of wind, it seems you are also able to sense where I am with the wind too. That's fair." I glared back.

"For someone who can control what your opponents feel, I don't want to hear it from you." I glared back.

"But, you are strong I admit it. Next time we fight though, I won't let you get away alive. The name is Yoshiro and you better remember it." He said, with a slight smile. A dangerous smile.

"Tsk, Tatsumi, and I can say the same to you." I said, glaring. He then brought up his flute and shimmered out of existence once again. I fell on my stomach again, the pain no longer resonating from my legs. I did not have a single wound on my body, but the pain I felt when I was stabbed through the heart. I felt like crying. I don't want to experience that ever again, I don't want to die.

The pain, it was indescribable. The pain of dying, even for a second, caused me to fear.

To fear death.

* * *

It started raining as I returned to the base and found everyone surrounding someone. I saw everyone surrounding Mein, who looked in severe pain. She was holding her arm, which was bleeding but I felt that it was not the source of her pain. Everyone had a shocked look on their face. Then I realized something, Sheele wasn't there.

"What's wrong? What happened? Where's Sheele?" I asked.

Akame looked pained, Bulat was grinding his teath, Lubbock was covering his eye with one hand and trying not to cry, Leone was wide eyes, the boss was looking at the sky. I feared the worst and prepared my heart for what is to come. But no amount of preparation was enough. Mein turned to me with her bangs covering her head.

"Sheele… died."

* * *

 **I'm sorry**

 **Hey guys and girls, BzS here.**

 **I'm sorry for the Sheele fans out there who hoped she wouldn't die, Im sorry. I almost cried too when Sheele died in the anime, it was soooo sad. BUT I felt that her death was necessary, in the anime it taught Tatsumi a lesson and I plan on the same thing in my fanfic too. Please forgive me.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter and my OC character and his teigu. This was the product of an episode of Naruto + ADHD and voala.**

 **Also, sorry for the slow update. Yes it is summer and theirs no school, but surprisingly, it's actually been pretty busy.**

 **I have to you know, play games, skype friends, do summer homework, pre-study some subjects, teach my little brother how to play his instrument.**

 **Play Osu.**

 **Definitely** **not a boring summer.**

 **Enough Excuses, Thank you for all your continued support.**

 **We Out, Latre - BzS**


	8. Chapter 8 - A Pain That Will Never Fade

The rain came down on us, and I stood in shock. Dead? Sheele died? It took a moment to sink in, we all stood in silence. I started to comprehend what I had just been told, I got a feeling in my stomach as my eyes widened, then narrowed in anger. The wind increased in force and speed as I walked up to Mein and grabbed her by the shoulder.

"What happened?" I said with my bangs covering my face. She looked down at the ground.

"We were on our way back from killing our target…"

* * *

- _Flashback – 30 minutes ago-_

"That was so easy, that moron just stood there on the balcony, it was too easy." Mein said. Sheele smiled at that. They were running through a park on their way back to the base when they felt a presence coming right at them from behind. They both jumped out of the way and the brick path of the park was crushed and dust flew blocking their vision of the attacker.

"An enemy? I didn't feel their presence." Mein said. Sheele nodded, with a very serious face.

The dust cleared and the attacker got up. A girl around their age, brown hair tied back into a pony tail, a very cute girl but there was one thing off about her, her eyes were corrupted, her smile was sick. She took out a paper.

"Like I thought, Sheele of Night Raid. The other girl must also be part of Night Raid." She sounded very happy, a dark kind of happy.

"Finally, I FOUND YOU NIGHT RAID!" She yelled. Her crazy eyes were filled with excitement.

"I'm Imperial Police's Seryu Ubiquitous, and in the name of absolute justice, I WILL BRING JUDGMENT ONTO THE EVIL!" She yelled.

"You're corrupted, probably beyond hope too, I will relieve you." Mein said. Seryu glared at her.

"Shut up! My dad died in duty to stop evil like you and I will never forgive you for killing Captain Ogre. Tonight, you will die for your sins." She said.

Mein pulled up pumpkin and began rapid firing, the dog looking thing that they hadn't really noticed jumped in front of Seryu and they hidden by dust. Mein stopped and waited to see if they are dead. But when the dust cleared, the dog thing had grew more than 10 times larger, double the height of Seryu and now much more sinister looking, it had bullet holes in it but they quickly disappeared.

"Rapid regeneration? An organism based teigu. This is going to be troublesome." Sheele said. They jumped out of the way of Seryu's bullets and readied their teigu's. Seryu narrowed her eyes.

"Coro! Attack!" She yelled and pointed at Sheele. Coro roared and began doing barrel rolls towards Sheele with his mouth open, becoming similar to a drill with teeth, Sheele narrowed her eyes and swung Extase and Coro fell behind her, cut open. Sheele swung the blood off her teigu and began walking towards Seryu when she felt Coro stand back up.

She turned around and watched as Coro towered over her, the giant gap at the side of his mouth and shoulder regenerated in an instant. It roared before getting blasted back to Seryu by Mein from behind.

"Don't let your guard down, don't you remember? Organism based teigu's will keep regenerating unless we destroy the core!" Mein yelled. Sheele nodded and apologized. Seryu stood with her arms crossed.

"Coro, arms." She commanded and Coro's tiny stubs became muscular arms with hands and Coro grew a more defined and muscular body, his face now looking deformed and ugly compared to the sinister Coro from before. Mein had a look ready to puke.

"Uh, disgusting." She said. Seryu looked angry at the comment before commanding Coro once again.

"Coro! Crush!" Coro charged at them and Sheele jumped in front of Mein, bringing up Extase she blocked Coro's onslaught of punches with great difficulty. Behind Coro Seryu blew her reinforcement whistle and began laughing crazily. Mein narrowed her eyes.

"We are on the defensive and enemy reinforcements are coming, this is quite the pinch." She said before jumping up and a huge beam of energy blasted out of pumpkin and began melting Coro.

The blast stopped and instantly Coro began regenerating with his face melted and deformed.

"Tsk, he still has this much energy?" Mein said annoyed.

Seryu chuckled from behind before Sheele rushed out of the dust cloud. Seryu looked caught off guard.

"The teigu will stop once the user dies, they are merely tools. So I will take you out first." Sheele said, Seryu brought up her guns and jumped backwards into the trees. Coro turned around and began moving to protect Seryu but Mein blasted a hole in him.

"Your opponent is me! By the process of elimination I'm should be able to find his core soon."

Sheele followed Seryu and was upon her in second. Seryu brought up her guns to block the attack but they are cut in half by Sheele's teigu. Sheele proceeded to cut off her arms in one swing. Seryu screamed in pain and began falling, but instead jumped back and from her arms, 2 guns popped out. Sheeles eyes widened, body modifications?

"JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL!" Seryu yelled before firing. But the bullet was blocked easily by Extase. She then cut the guns from Seyru's arms and Seryu fell on her butt.

"I-I'm not done yet." She said glaring.

'If I use this Coro will become temporarily immobilized after the duration, but I don't have a choice.' she thought. She smiled darkly.

"CORO! BESERK!"

Mein, who had just found Coro's core, was stunned as Coro turned red, grew even bigger and was now an abomination. Its whole body became more muscular, his eyes turned red and he opened his mouth and roared, showing off 3 rows of razor sharp teeth. The roar was so loud it caused a shockwave that dispersed any remaining dust.

So this is their trump card. Mein thought. Before she could blink she was in the grasp of Coro.

"Mein!" Sheele yelled, running towards her.

"CRUSH HER!" Seryu ordered.

Mein struggled and screamed in pain as she felt her right arm break, tears in her eyes. Sheele appeared and cut off Coro's arm in one slice, Mein fell to the floor. She looked up.

"Sheele!" She said with a grateful smile.

"I made it in time! Thank goodne-"She couldn't finish as she felt a sudden pain in her chest. Mein could only watch in horror as a bullet went right through Sheele.

Seryu stood by the trees, a gun in her mouth.

"CORO! FEAST!" She yelled.

Mein couldn't do anything but watch as Sheele got ripped in half by the monstrosity.

She was stunned. It all began to sink in. She stood up, crying.

"SHEELE!" She yelled in pain. She turned towards Seryu, who sat there with a satisfied grin.

"How dare you… How dare you.. HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO SHEELE!" She tried to lift Pumpkin but her broken arm prevented her from doing so. She gritted her teeth in frustration and pain.

"LIKE A BROKEN ARM WILL STOP ME!" She yelled in defiance. She heard footsteps and looked around. She was surrounded by imperial police, all armed. She gritted her teeth when a bright light shined around her, blinding everyone else. She turned to see Sheele, still alive but living only by sheer willpower.

"Ex-tase." She said.

"W-what is this?! A light generating metal?" Someone in the crowd yelled.

"M-Mein, ge-t o-out of here!" She yelled. Mein hesitated.

"B-but…" She stopped when she saw Sheele turn, and smile.

She gritted her teeth and turned. She ran, as fast as she could. Not looking behind.

Sheele closed her eyes in relief. Memories ran through her head, from when she first joined, to all the fun she had. Everything she experienced ran through her head as she reflected on her past. A tear slipped from her eye.

I don't want to die.

A loud crunch echoed through the air, and the light died out.

 _\- End Flashback –_

Everyone stood in silence. My eyes filled with rage and wind blew around me, slowly forming a tornado. I walked past Mein when a voice stopped me.

"Where are you going?" I stopped.

"I'm going to kill her, I must avenge Sheele." I said.

"Do you know where she is? Do you know who's with her? Calm down Tatsumi, charging in right now would only get you killed." Said Bulat without emotion. I stood in silence, before I suddenly turned around.

"SHEELE DIED! HOW CAN WE JUST SIT BY AND NOT DO ANYTHING?!" I asked before I was sent flying.

I fell on my side and held my cheek, stinging in pain. I looked back at bro, he glared at me.

"TATSUMI! Don't lose control of yourself! We told you that any of us could die at any time didn't we?! You knew this when you agreed to join us! What are we going to do if you died too?!" He yelled. I gritted my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut. Unbeknownst to me, bro was tightening his hand so much veins popped out and his nail dug into his hand.

Mein was holding her arm tight. Silently promising that Seryu Ubiquitous would die by her hand, eventually.

"Sheele's death was not in vain, now the Capitol knows only a teigu user could kill one of us, they will send more teigu users and it will give us more chances to collect teigu's. I personally will make sure her death isn't in vain. Tatsumi, bear the pain and use the drive to grow stronger, but never lose your head or else you will put everyone else in danger too." I stood in silence.

The night dragged on and on, just like when I first came to the Capitol. Perfect memory is not always a good thing, I remember everything, including the things I want to forget, and I will never be able forget the excruciating pain of losing someone you care about.

I sat on my bed, unable to sleep. I doubt anyone else is asleep either.

"Sayo, Ieyasu, Ryou, Sheele, what should I do?" I whispered silently. I decided to go get some water. I stepped into the kitchen to find Akame coming out, with dango's on a plate in her hand.

"Akame? What are you doing?" I asked. She looked at me and back down to her plate.

"This was Sheele's favorite. As assassins, we will always be in the shadows. Sheele's name will not be remembered, nor will ours. So I will try to remember as much about her as possible." She explained. I looked at her, she was so composed even after that.

"Akame, how do you deal with this?" I asked, she looked at me.

"How do you stay so composed? How do you get used to this pain? Please tell me." I said. Her bangs covered her face. The plate shattered as it hit the ground and I found Akame holding me by my collar.

"Used to it?" She whispered. I looked at her in shock.

"I've seen many lives fall, I've experienced pain more times than I can count. But, my precious friend and ally just died! No one, no way can anyone get used to this! We are assassins, if we let our emotions affect us we might be the next to die. I need to be able to switch gears or else how am I supposed to protect others?!" She let go of me and brought her hand to her chest, looking at the ground.

"Even now, the pain I feel in my heart is killing me on the inside. I-I…" She whispered.

I felt like killing myself. How could I be so heartless and say something like that?! I looked at her, tears dripping onto the ground. Ever since I joined, she has always shown that she cared about her friends greatly. She was worried I would die on my first mission, we had barely known each other back then.

Yet...

I wrapped my arms around her and held her. Her eyes widened and she slowly looked up to me, I looked her into the eyes.

"I'm sorry Akame, what I said was heartless. But Akame, I promise. I will not die, I will not make you cry again. So right now. You can let it all out." I whispered. Her eyes widened before they closed.

Her screams of sorrow filled the room, and her cries echoed in the night.

* * *

 _\- Time Skip - Next day –_

I woke up and found myself in a corner of the dining room. I looked around and found everyone, smiling at me proudly. I saw Akame behind them sneaking looks at me with a slight blush. I looked around confused.

"What." Leone gave me a teasing look and grin.

"Don't you remember? What happened last night?" She asked. I searched my head and thanks to my perfect memory, I couldn't even pretend I didn't know. Akame cried for half an hour straight and fell asleep in my arms, I was exhausted because of everything so I just sat down in the corner and fell asleep, still holding her. Together. I blushed a bright red and stood up suddenly, walking into the kitchen and began making breakfast. I tried my best to work with Akame but dealing with their teasing made it extremely difficult.

After breakfast, I headed over to the training field and challenged Akame to a duel, my way of saying 'let's forget that last night happened and just go back to normal.' I charged at Akame with my wooden sword and she blocked with hers, I swung and she parried. This continued for a while until I brought my sword up a bit too high and she swung at me, I responded by jumping away but she still managed to touch my shirt. I sighed, I lost again.

I stood back up and went back into my stance and ran at her before I was forced to lean backwards to avoid a fist to my face and lost balance, sliding forward a bit before rolling sideways and getting back onto my feet. I looked at the perpetrator who almost broke my nose. It was Bulat.

"Bro! What are you doing? That was going to hurt!" I yelled. Bulat nodded.

"You have good reaction time, good enough to duel Akame and good enough to dodge my fist. But Tatsumi, on matter how fast your reaction time it, you need to be aware of your surroundings. I don't care if your teigu makes up for that weakness, it is a skill you need to learn." He lectured.

I nodded, my teigu cannot sense what doesn't exist while I could. I thought back to yesterday. Yoshiro, my teigu allows me to attack him, but I can't avoid his attacks within the illusions by depending on my teigu, but if I can train my battle senses, I should be able to avoid more damage. A weakness I noticed, his illusions must abide by the laws of reality, it can be parried, it can be avoided and it can be destroyed.

"Alright Tatsumi, you're going to fight me now." He said, pulling out a wooden spear from who knows where and charged at me, I got on my feet as quickly as possible and blocked the swing, it knocked me back pretty far but I managed to keep my balance and skid to a stop. I got into my stance.

"Bring it!"

* * *

 **\- Imperial Castle - Throne Room –**

A women with long blue hair kneeled before the throne, holding a peaked cap at her chest. A fat man, very fat, stood beside the throne eating sushi and a child, around the age of 10 or so, sat on the throne. The child wore extremely fancy clothe and wore a crown signaling he was the current emperor.

"General Esdeath, your victory over the North was outstanding. We have prepared 10 thousand gold as a reward." The boy said.

"Thank you, I will send it to my soldiers stationed in the North, they will rejoice. Now that I have returned, my servants and I will wipe out Night Raid." She said. Behind her kneeling, was a big man, an old man and a short, girlish boy. They are the infamous 2 beasts, body guards and loyal servants of general Esdeath.

"Taking on Night Raid is a huge task, I would like to reward you for it with more than just gold. What do you desire?" The emperor asked.

"Hmm, let me think. Actually, I would thinking I want to fall in love." The minister and emperor were silenced for a moment.

"O-oh? You are, indeed, of age and still yet to be married. How about the minister?" Minister sweat dropped.

"As much I appreciate the offer, the minister has high blood pressure and probably won't live long. Plus, I have very specific standards and I don't think there are many who fit the criteria, I will have it presented to you later on paper." She said before smiling a different kind of smile.

A kind you'd never want to see.

* * *

A while later, the minister and Esdeath was walking through the palace.

"I find it strange that I suddenly have an interest to try my hands at love. It confuses myself too, but I can't deny this desire." Esdeath said. Minister agreed that it was odd, Esdeath fits the word loving as much as he is active.

"Whatever, for now I'll just enjoy crushing Night Raid." She said. The Minister smiled.

"About that, I have an idea."

* * *

 _\- Time Skip – A Week Later -_

"I've got bad news." Najenda said.

"Esdeath had conquered the North and has already returned." My eyes narrowed. The one who wields the strongest teigu has finally returned.

"Leone, go to the Capitol and keep an eye on her. Remember, be extremely careful and don't be rash." Najenda ordered. Leone smiled.

"Roger!" Leone said.

'I might be able to find a chance to kill her, killing her is akin to removing the minister.' Leone thought. She smiled.

"Onto the second part of the bad news. A few days ago around the time of her return, 4 political officials and 61 guards were assassinated. There were flyers that claimed it was done by us, Night Raid." She said before showing us the flyer, it had our symbol and a motto.

"Isn't framing us like that too obvious? Why would we suddenly declare our actions?" I said.

"That's right, but many believe it is us because the guards killed were all top notch, highly capable and skilled. Only a group like us, a group of teigu users could do that. I believe they are Esdeath's closeest subordinates." Najenda explained.

"They are baiting us, challenging us to fight them. It's obviously a trap." Bulat said.

"Since we know it's a trap, we've reached a crossroads. The political officials are against the minister and they care about the people. They are essential to when we overthrow the Capitol. We can't afford to let any more of them die. So, I want to hear your thoughts. What should we do?" There was silence.

"I don't know anything about politics or how important these people are but. All I know is, committing crimes in our name pisses me off. I want to slice them up for that reason alone." Another moment of silence before Bulat burst out laughing.

"HAHAHA! You're right Tatsumi! We need to make them pay for tainting our name!" He said. Everyone smiled and nodded. Najenda grinned and stood up.

"Alright! It's decided then, we will show these people what happens when they use our name. There are 2 groups of officials that might be targeted next. Akame and Lubbock, you will guard one. They are going to head to a village up North, you will head their immediately. Tatsumi and Bulat, you will head to the outskirts of the Capitol, at the marina of the Grand Canal there will be a massive luxury liner, and you will head there immediately." We nodded.

When the boss said massive luxury liner I thought she meant medium sized. But this, this was bigger than massive. But as I looked at it I felt a chill down my back, I get the feeling a big battle is about to come. A battle where the strong will prevail and the weak will perish. I shook the feeling from my head and headed into the cruise.

A pair of eyes watched as I headed in, and he smiled.

"Shit is about to hit the fan."

* * *

 **Hey guys and girls. BzS here.**

 **I want to apologize if there will be a gap where I go a week or so without updating. My family is planning a vacation like every other family, I still don't know when.**

 **Anyways.**

 **Thank you all for the support, I'm really glad you guys enjoy this story.**

 **We Out - BzS**


	9. Chapter 9 - The 3 Beasts

**~Tatsumi's POV~**

I stared at the water, what a beautiful creation. I smiled, as someone who has grown up in the mountains, where there wasn't a lake not to mention such a large body of water. I felt the breeze and I felt relaxed, my senses sharpened and I closed my eyes, feeling everything within a mile around me. I love this. I almost fell asleep in peace when I felt a smack on my head.

"OW! Bro what are you doing?!" I turned to my right and yelled, not too loud, I don't want to draw attention.

"Oh? Right, your teigu can see me, Tatsumi, this is still a mission no matter how relaxing it is, you can't let your guard down." He said, I smiled.

"Your teigu has a pretty neat ability, invisibility is so useful." I said, he smiled proudly.

"I know. I've been fighting with this Teigu for years now and it has never let me down. Also, as I grew stronger, it grew with me." He said, that caught my attention.

"Grew with you? What do you mean?" I asked.

"This teigu is special, it can…" He stopped when some visible static flew from Incursio.

"I'll tell you when I get the chance, my invisibility is running out." I nodded.

"You can go check the inside, I'll keep watch on the target." I said, looking back to the guy. He was a bald old man, his back was bent over and he was wearing a fur coat even though it's not even remotely cold. With his is a bunch of bodyguards in black, standing guard. Bulat was about to leave when I popped the question.

"Bro, before you go, how do you think they are going to do this? With this many people around it's almost impossible to assassinate someone. If they are, they will be extremely strong, do you think we can win?" I asked. He turned around.

"It doesn't matter, they will have a way to do it and we will need to fight." He said seriously. I nodded.

"Also, I will protect you no matter what. No matter what~." He said, this time with a thumbs up and a flirty tone, his teeth shined through the invisibility and I had to puke over the edge. He laughed before walking away. I wiped my mouth and shivered, before returning to a serious mode.

When will they strike? How will they strike? As much as I want to enjoy this atmosphere bro is right, I can't let my guard down, we might be fighting soon and I need to prepare. My eyes narrowed. How?

* * *

To the north of the Capitol, some ways out of the city, was a village. Akame and Lubbock stood hidden in the trees, with Cross Tail wrapped everywhere. They watched as their targets, the ones they need to protect, and their groups and guards gave rice to the poor village. Lubbock smiled.

"Guess they really are good guys, handing out free rice to a poor, insignificant village." He said, Akame nodded and her stomach growled.

"Watching this makes me hungry." She said. Lubbock sweat dropped, they had lunch like 30 minutes ago.

"Alright, alright. I'll give you this but I'm counting on you when the enemies come." Lubbock said. The ration suddenly disappeared and Akame was nibbling on it in a split second. Lubbock sighed, typical Akame. He focused back on the string.

"No reaction, I wonder if the enemies are coming." Lubbock said. Akame looked at him.

"Don't let your guard down, they can strike at any time." She said.

"I know." He responded. Akame looked up at the sky with a worried face.

'If the enemies are there on your side, Tatsumi, Bulat. Don't die." She thought.

* * *

 **\- Back on the Cruise –**

I stood inside the dining hall of the ship, keeping my eye on the target, holding a glass of wine, which I took a sip of. It was not bad. I sweat dropped.

I'm underage.

Music filled the air and I felt weak in the knees, everyone around me collapsed. My eyes widened, flute? Is it him? I shook my head. I need to get out of here. I slowly walked out onto the deck, the breeze blew and my senses sharpened and I felt some energy come back, but the sound of the flute didn't lessen. It's definitely a teigu. I couldn't fully recover when I 'saw' someone behind me.

"Oh? Someone's still awake? If you had fallen asleep I would have let you go, but now I have to kill you." Said the someone, I turned around and he walked out of the shadows, he was around Bulat's height and he had a blonde beard and hair, his pupil is white and he had a dark smile. He wore a special uniform, I guess it is the uniform for this squad or something.

"I'm guessing you're one of the ones pretending to be Night Raid?" I asked. He raised his eyebrows and smiled.

"Oh? You're the real deal? Great! I'm going to kill you and get a lot of experience out of this!" He said laughing a bit. I glared at him and closed my eyes. I raised my arm to the side with my palm open, wind spiraled around my hand and Shinatsuhiko appeared in my hand. A power I discovered a few days ago, I can cause Shinatsuhiko to turn into the wind and bring her to me. But I need a great amount of concentration to do it. I pulled her out of her sheath and brought her to my chest, I stood sideways and the tip was pointed at the guy, both hands holding onto the handle.

"Any last words before I kill you?" I said. He laughed and brought out a special looking axe, which I assumed it was his teigu.

"The names Daidara, this will give me a lot of experience! I will become the strongest in no time!" He said before he split his axe in half and throwing one of them at me, my eyes narrowed and I crouched, still in my stance.

His axe came back and I jumped over it without looking, the blade once again came back around and this time it cut me by the cheek as I side stepped it, it then flew back to Daidara. He was so focused on his actions, he never noticed the wind had disappeared. I glared at him.

"That's an interesting Teigu, but it is no match for Shinatsuhiko, for tainting the name of Night Raid. I will send you straight to hell." I said before I sprinted at him and stabbed at him, the wind blew past me and a wind drill fired from my sword, he looked confused before he was blown back by the wind, the drill went right through him and he was cut up in multiple places.

He looked shocked and his eyes widened.

"I-I couldn't become the strongest, I can't die y…" He said before he collapsed. I sighed and my stance relaxed when I suddenly 'saw' them. I was so focused on fighting I didn't pay attention to the two that was flying at me, I turned and my eyes widened. They were upon me and I waited for my death when Bulat appeared and knocked them both away.

"This is what I was talking about Tatsumi, even though your teigu lets you see around you, you can be distracted and not notice something." Bulat said standing in front of me. His armor off. I looked at him shocked, both by how he just defeated 2 enemies in an instant and how he seems unaffected by the music.

"You… You just took 2 of them out without even blinking." I said. He smiled and gave me a thumbs up, I saw his leg was bleeding, which he had patched up, I looked at him, he used pain to remove the effects?

"You know, back in the day when I was still fighting for the Capitol I was named the hundred man slayer. This is a piece of cake." He said, his teeth sparkling.

"It was 128 to be exact, they were all part of the enemies Special Forces, and you did well back then." Said a voice. The dust cleared and it was one of the attackers, he was an old man wearing the same uniform as Daidara. Bulat turned to him.

"G-general Liver?" He asked, his voice full of shock.

"So it is you, Bulat." The the old man replied. I looked at Bulat.

"You know him?" I asked. He nodded.

"Back in the day, back in the war against the south, he was my General, he and I fought side by side and managed to win the war. But, he was sent back to the Capitol in chains because he refused a bribe from the Minister. He was imprisoned without a fair trial, I haven't seen him since." He explained.

"Why, you hated the new Capitol and their actions, why did you join them?"

"In the time of need, I was saved by Lady Esdeath and I am now her loyal servant. I will eliminate any who opposes her." He replied. Bulat summoned his spear.

"We would have went for drink to celebrate if we were on the same side. But now you are my enemy, I will show no mercy." Bulat said.

"That's my line." Liver responded. He took off his glove to reveal a ring the shape of a dragons head on his middle finger,

"Behold, the power Lady Esdeath has granted me." He said before the jewel on the ring flashed blue and the barrels around us exploded into pillars and the water flew and surrounded him. I narrowed my eyes, another teigu that controls an element. A powerful one at that.

"A water controlling teigu. Fitting for the servant of the ice controller." Bulat said.

"No, she is on another level being able to create ice out of nothing, I am no match for her, it's amazing. Now brace yourself, Water Spirit Cannon." He said and throwing his arm out in front of him. The water around him came together and flew towards Bulat in one big drill. I narrowed my eyes and threw a wind blade that flew by Bulat and split the drill in half, but it merged together again and continued.

"Tatsumi! Stay out of this fight! This is between him and me!" Bulat yelled. He then spun his spear in front of him, dispersing the water drill as it hit the spear. I frowned before I saw the other guy.

"That guy is tough, that hurt, but with all this water it is Livers territory. I might as well help." He said before he brought up his recorder looking thing. I sent a blade towards him and forced him to jump back. On the inside I relaxed a bit, it's not Yoshiro. He glared at me.

"You're getting cocky! Night Raid!" He yelled before he charged at me at surprisingly high speeds. He swung his instrument. I dodged and parried the onslaught of swings, despite his weak looks he hit hard. I saw an opening and swung my sword in retaliation, managing to cut his leg but he jumped behind me and kicked me, which I just managed to barely block. I skidded back.

I still haven't recovered from the music, I couldn't move as fast and my reflexes were slowed. But this guy, he was injured but still could move this fast. I glared at him and our trading continued.

On the other side of the boat, Liver stood on top of a huge column of water that took the shape of a cobra, Liver sent the cobra at him. Bulat in response jumped right at the attack, splitting it in half with his spear, in order to protect the boat. Liver willed serval water tendrils to attack Bulat, breaking Incursio's mask part. But Bulat looked at him as he came down.

"Don't give me that crap! That isn't enough to defeat me!" He yelled. Liver looked up at him

"I'm well aware of that, we have fought countless battles together and I know you will not easily submit. That is why, I will defeat you with my most powerful move." Liver said.

"WATER DRAGONS CONQUEST!" He yelled, several huge water dragons flew at Bulat, he yelled in pain as he was hit by all of them one by one, unable to dodge. I heard the yell and was distracted for a second, allowing my opponent to kick me in the back, knocking me to the ground.

Liver was wondering if Bulat was dead when Bulat came falling from the sky. I couldn't get up fast enough to stop my opponent from running to intercept Bulat. Which he responded by kicking him back, missing his chance to defeat Liver.

I got up.

"I'm sorry bro, I got distracted in battle and you missed your chance to beat him." I said looking at the ground. He smiled and his armor disappeared.

"It's ok, you were concerned about me, and it was my fault. I'll end this quickly." He said, I was shocked to find his normal armor cracked and him bleeding. He was damaged even inside Incursio.

"It seems Incursio would release after enough damage is dealt. You lost." Liver said, Bulat smiled.

"You aren't one to talk, your bleeding from your ears. Your body is worn out after using all those moves, you're in no shape to use yours either." He said.

"Bulat, you were never one to care about formalities, so I will just ask bluntly. Why don't you join us?" He said. I was surprised, Bulat looked baffled too.

"When I was in prison, waiting for my sentence, Esdeath showed up to me. She offered me freedom if I became a loyal servant to her, and I was sold when she said everyone would listen and fear me. Even those filthy, worthless political officials who spreads their evil policies and ideals. Come with me Bulat! We can fight together again, Esdeath will surely accept you and dismiss your crimes." He said, gaining an evil, hateful look half way through.

Bulats bangs covered his face, he brought up his brush and fixed his hair. He smiled.

"I'm a defender of the people, if I joined you, how can I call myself that. Now enough talk, lets settle this the old fashioned way." He said. Before clicking a part of his shoulder pad, expelling Incursio in its sword form. Liver shook his head.

"If you are to persist and not repent, I will be the one to kill you." He said before he pulled out a syringe, stabbing it into his neck and ejecting the liquid, then pulling out a sword.

"I'm going to have to boost my strength to fight you, brace yourself." They charged at each other and their swords clashed.

In a battle between two teigu users going after each other with the intent to kill, only one can live. I thought, but then it hit me. Why did neither of us die when I fought Yoshiro? I had the intent to kill him, but I was hesitant to engage without knowing his strengths, so didn't he want to kill me? I shook my head and refocused on the battle.

Their swords clashed at hyper speeds, each clash sent a shockwave, as they struck with all their might with the intent to kill. They showed no signs of injuries or exhaust, but it didn't last long. Bulat and Liver crossed swords and held it there, fighting each other with brute strength. Bulat yelled in defiance and broke Livers sword, inflicting a deep wound. I sensed something different about Liver, my eyes widened before I ran at them. Liver fell on the ground and coughed up blood, but smiled.

"HIDDEN TECHNIQUE – BLADE OF BLOOD!" He yelled before the blood splat on the ground came flying up and at Bulat.

I dashed in front of Bulat and stabbed my sword into the ground, a tornado appeared around us and I was barely able to block them, some scratching me. Behind me Bulat reacted and threw Incrusio at Liver, piercing his stomach, causing him to lose focus and the attack stopped. He looked at me a bit angry.

"Tatsumi! I told you not to interfere! This is my fight!" I looked at him.

"What's more important? Your pride and honor or your life? Plus you had already won, I don't want you dying on me." I said. He calmed down but still looked upset. Liver on the floor laughed.

"He's right, you won. That was my attempt to bring you down with me but it didn't work did it? Bulat, I don't think there's any hope of you and your army defeating Lady Esdeath, but while you try, make sure to kill some of those political bastards for me," He said on the floor.

"How did you intend to kill me? The blood was not enough." Bulat asked.

"Heh, I was trained to be resistant to poison, the syringe had a deadly poison in it, if a single tendril hit you, you would have died." I suddenly collapsed. Bulat dropped down by my side.

"Tatsumi! What's wrong!?" He asked. I chuckled.

"Heh, I guess a single scratch is enough." I said. Before rolling onto my back. Liver chuckled.

"At least I will bring one with me, the one with power that might rival Lady Esdeath's, it's worth my life." He said before he died.

I rolled onto my back.

"I don't want to die yet." I said, Bulat knelt beside me.

"Don't worry! You won't die! I will save you for sure!" He said.

"Before you worry about him, you should worry about yourself." A voice said. I had completely forgotten about the last guy, the girlish guy. He walked towards us, music filling the air, a sinister music.

"That was not our trump card, our real trump card, is me. Secret Technique – Demon Summoning." He said before his body buffed up, he grew taller, his eyes turned red and he became a different person.

"My teigu Scream doesn't just affect others, it affects me too. Now I'll send you both to hell." He said, confident and arrogant. Bulat glared at him, and stood up.

"I don't have time for this, I'm really pissed right now. My commander just died and my friend is in danger. I DON'T HAVE TIME TO DEAL WITH YOU!" He yelled in anger.

"I WILL END YOU IN ONE STRIKE! INCURSIO!" He yelled, he stabbed his sword into the ground and an image of the ancient Danger Beast appeared. It roared and began to change form, wrapping around Bulat. I stared at him, and smiled. The armor that grows with the wielder, the ever evolving armor, Incursio. Bulat now wore a slightly different armor. The body looks the same, but the arms are now broken into different parts and the helmet changed so there are 2 horn like parts that tilt backwards, making it look more powerful and fierce.

"W-what? An armor that evolves with emotion? How is that possible?"

"My armor is made from the flesh of the Tryant, a Danger Beast with extreme adaptation and could survive in any environment, even now, the beast lives in the form of this armor. But that's enough talk, time is precious." Bulat said before he charged at speeds greater than before, and punched with greater strength than before, knocking Nyau into the wall before he could react, killing him instantly.

Bulat ran back to me, and I smiled. He looked worried.

"I will save you don't worry." I smiled, sat up and laughed.

"Ha! Did you actually think I would die? When you said your armor grows with you I thought some shock would help you grow stronger. It worked didn't it." I smiled at him but I was knocked back onto the ground.

"Don't worry me like that!" He yelled at me before smiling,

"But it did work, didn't it." He said before he laid down beside me.

We both stared at the sky.

And no one said a word.

Nothing needed to be said.

* * *

 **Hey guys and girls, BzS here**

 **So, I decided not to kill Bulat, I'm sure many of you are happy about that. I have my reasons as to why Bulat lives and Blah Blah Blah. Also, most of you probably could tell, Tatsumi will not be inheriting the Incursio.**

 **Anyways, thank you all and have a good one**

 **We Out - BzS**


	10. Chapter 10 - The Jaegars

I laid on the ground, looking at the sky. So much has happened in the 4 months I've been here, I've killed strong opponents, suffered much grief and pain and my life has changed completely. Never during my 17 years at my village did I ever think my life would become like this, but I have no regrets, I've been sending money to my village and I've been training hard, very hard.

It's been quiet for the past month, too quiet, the boss suspects something big is about to happen and the Capitol has been preparing. Because of that, I've been training harder than ever. In my battle against the 3 beasts I've discovered a weakness. Bulat, Leone and Akame have been helping me train. Bulat has been helping me increase strength, speed and agility, I've been dueling Akame every day and Leone has been helping in her own way.

"Hey Tatsumi! Stop slacking! Break's over!" Bulat yelled. I sat up and looked at him.

"Ok, next is doing 100 push-ups with 100 pounds on my back right?" I asked. He shook his head.

"We are upping the level, you're going to either have Akame or Leone on your back." He said.

"Akame, I'm not ready for Leone on my back yet." I said almost immediately and I was eating dirt the next moment.

"Tatsumi, sometimes you need to know when stop talking." Bulat laughed, Akame smiled. I laughed too, 4 months with these guys have changed me, I feel way more relaxed, more safe, and in quite a while, more happy.

I looked at the sky and my smile stopped. I get the feeling that this atmosphere won't last long, somethings about to happen, something big. I smiled again, might as well enjoy it while it lasts.

"Hurry up! Let's get going!" I heard and I stood up and walked over to them, to my friends, companions.

My family.

* * *

A young man stood at the entrance to the city, he had dark blue hair and was wearing blue, all blue. But what caught most people's attention was a huge bag of fish on his back, a huge bag, and all fish. It is obviously not something one would see in the Capitol everyday so everybody knew who this guys was.

As he walked down the street he heard a lot of comments, not good ones.

"Another country kid."  
"He's from the country."  
"He must be from the country."

He continued walking down the street wondering why he feels like everyone is looking at him funny. He shrugged his shoulders and looked his weapon, hidden under the bag and out of view.

A while later, he stood in front of the room where his new teammates were supposed to gather. This young man's name is Wave, a kid from the seaside that idolized the Imperial Navy and joined at a young age of 14, he spent the last 3 and a half years of his life killing pirates and aquatic danger beasts. He was invited the join the Special Forces squad and today was the day he met his new teammates.

He stopped in front of the palace. His head was spinning and his eyes were wide.

'How the hell am I supposed to find the room?!' For someone who hasn't seen a mansion let alone the Capitol Palace, this was too much.

"Umm…" He heard behind him. He turned around and met face to face with a girl around his age.

She had brown hair tied in a pony-tail, she wore standard military uniform and armor. The only thing that stood out about her is a dog like object that stood beside her.

"Are you lost?" She asked. Wave shrugged.

"Kind of. I'm supposed to meet my new team somewhere in this palace, but I have no idea where to start." She smiled and saluted.

"No problem! Tell me which room and I will show you the way!" Wave nodded and thanked her. He showed her the document that held all the details. She nodded.

"Alright! I am also heading to that room." Wave looked surprised.

"Your one of my new teammates?" She nodded.

"My name is Seryu! This is Coro." She said. Wave nodded.

"I'm Wave, if you don't mind me asking, what is Coro?" She smiled.

"Coro is the name I gave him. He's an organic teigu." She looked at the time.

"Oh no! We must hurry or else we will be late." She started running, Coro flying behind her like a kite. Wave quickly followed.

As they ran down the halls of the palace, Wave started wondering how the hell anyone could know where they were going. All the halls looked the exact same to him, it was like a maze.

Before long, Seryu stopped in front of a door that looked exactly like all the others. The only thing indicating they were in front of the right door was the sign that read 'Conference Room'.

Wave took a deep, preparing himself. Just as he exhaled Seryu slammed the door open and he jumped. Due to the action he started choking. He desperately tried the stop himself but ended up tripping on his own foot, face planting on the ground.

He curled up into a ball.

"What are you doing?" He heard a voice and looked up. He was met by a dead-pan look. He sighed and pushed himself up. He searched his brain for a good excuse.

"Uh, comedy skit?"

The entire room was silent. He gave up.

He walked to his an open seat and placed his head on the table. He felt the eyes of everyone in the room on him and looked up.

There were 5 members in the room, including him.

There was Seryu, a black haired girl that gave him the deadpan look, a creepy man with a very odd mask, as well as a man with glasses giving him a creepy look. He was just about to put his head back on the table when the door opened again.

A guy with blonde hair walked in. He bowed in a formal manner.

"My name is Run, a pleasure to work with you." He said. He walked to the seat next to me and sat down. I looked at him and he smiled back. I placed my head back on the table.

We all sat in silence, the only sound was chewing sounds coming from the black haired girl.

Wave was slowly falling asleep when the door slammed open. Everyone looked up and saw a women with blue hair and a mask walk in.

"Why are you all here?" She asked in a commanding voice.

Wave stood up.

"We were told to assemble h-" He couldn't finish as he was kicked in the gut by the women, he flew straight into the wall. The wall cracked as he felt his consciousness leave him.

She then engaged the Run and he managed to block her attacks, Seryu jumped at her with Coro, but she grabbed Seryu and threw her onto the ground, blocking Coro with ice that spawned out of nowhere. She then turned around and dodged the younger girl, Kurome's slash. But her face mask cracked and she smiled.

"Teigu Yatsufusa, an impressive blade indeed." She said. The crazy looking guy, Bols, looked shocked.

"General Esdeath!" Wave woke up. They all bowed to Esdeath and she told them to stand.

"General, everyone is here. Do we have any orders?" Run reported. Esdeath shook her head.

"No, there are 1 more. I had no need to test him so I have already ordered them to wait in a separate room, you are all going to change into formal clothes and we are going to meet the Emperor."

* * *

After a while, they all met in the hallway now in formal clothes, Esdeath wearing her normal uniform. Beside her stood a boy who looked around 17, with black hair that spiked backward. He had a flute strapped on his back.

"Hey! My name is Yoshiro and I'm one of your teammates!" He said and looked at each of them but stopped to stare at Kurome. Kurome looked at him oddly.

"I won't give you any cookies." She said and he smiled.

"You… you're Akame's sister right." He said and immediately Kurome's eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, how did you know?" He smiled.

"I used to be on Akame's assassin squad, the only other one to survive. That is, until she betrayed me." He said with a smile. Kurome looked at him suspiciously but their conversation was interrupted.

"That's enough chit chat. Now I will bring you to the Emperor in order to tell you our purpose, but I will give that to you right now. Our purpose is simple, protect the Capitol, take on missions, stop the rebellion and destroy night raid."

"We are the Special Task Force, Jaegers."

* * *

"Tatsumi, are you ready for this?" Lubbock smirked at me.

I stood behind Lubbock in a library, he was about to show me the location of the secret hideout, but why exactly are we in a library, I don't know. Lubbock put his hand on one of the books and he pressed it into the wall, the bookcase slid open and revealed a staircase. I sweat dropped.

"You read too much manga." I said. He span around to me.

"Shut up. It's good for me, I get tons of ideas on how to use my strings." I sweat dropped again and began walking down.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" He yelled and chased after me. I was met by a room with the Night Raid banner on the wall and it was well decorated, Leone sat on the couch and welcomed me. I just smiled and took out Mein's wanted poster and frowned.

"Mein has finally recovered, but she can't move around freely anymore with her face everywhere. Now it's just us three." They nodded.

"Boss went back to the Revolutionary Army headquarters in order to turn in the 3 teigu's you and Bulat collected, but she also wants to see if she can get any more members." Leone said

"Our bigger problem is the Special Task Force that everyone's talking about, the Jaegers, with Esdeath as the captain they were probably created to fight us." Lubbock said. I looked at him at the mention of Esdeath.

"Just how strong is she?" I asked. The mood darkened.

"Alright, I'll give you an idea." Lubbock said.

"A few years ago, a tribal group rebelled against the Capitol. In theory they would have been easy to deal with, but the special task force deployed were destroyed by the tribe's use of the terrain, nature's brutality and sneak attacks at night. The young Esdeath and Najenda where sent as reinforcements, she literally froze the mile wide river that separated them from the tribes village, the frozen river allowed the whole reinforcement force to cross the river and completely obliterate the tribe." I felt a shiver down my back.

A teigu capable of creating ice out of nothing and freezing a mile wide river in seconds. Seems a bit over powered.

"Not to mention, the Jaegars have another very dangerous person. Yoshiro of the assassin squad, the one where Akame came from." I had my eyes wide. He knew Akame.

"Tell me more." I said. They looked at me oddly.

"A few years ago, Akame's assassination squad, the elite seven, faced a suicide mission. Of the 8 people sent, the 7 members and the leader with Akame and Yoshiro among them, only the 2 of them survived. Akame and Yoshiro survived by the use of their Teigu, Akame had taken Murasame from the leaders corpse and Yoshiro had obtained his own earlier, they completed the mission but was not rewarded. Akame later came with us but Yoshiro continued in the capitol, making a name for himself as the second strongest in the Capitol."

I nodded, he was the second strongest in the Capitol huh? I smiled a bit, I could fight the second strongest to a standstill, but then I realized something. How can I fight Esdeath when I can't beat Yoshiro? They looked at me.

"If you want to see her yourself, you've got an opportunity. She is holding a martial arts tournament for one reason or another, there is prize money which you can probably send to your village." I thought about it, I've sent enough money for the village to use for a while, but the chance to check out Esdeath.

"I'm in."

* * *

The tournament was easy, 2 people fight and the winner moves on, the final is held in the audience of Esdeath and the winner gets a lot of money. I beat each opponent with bare hands easily, under the title of Tatsumi the hunter.

I didn't waste the past month, and I had trained harder than ever before and improved faster than I ever thought was possible.

The arena for the finals was huge, with a lot of people watching. I stepped out onto the floor and stood at the center, facing my opponent, who was a big man and looked like a bull, he looked menacing but I had no fear whatsoever, I have faced too many opponents that gave off a worse aura. I glanced to the side, there on the throne overlooking the arena was Esdeath, looking quite bored and beside him on one side was a blonde man wearing all white and on the other side.

My eyes widened, Yoshiro. Fear creeped into my heart, both from the feeling I got from fighting him last time, and the fact that he knew what I looked like. I shook my head, the fact he is looking at us and hasn't said anything means he either doesn't recognize me or forgot who I am. I breathed in, I need to focus on my opponent, Mein will never let me live it down if I lost to this guy. She had only just recovered and I am already suffering from her abuse.

"On the east side, Tatsumi the Hunter, on the west side, Kalbi the Butcher." The guy announced, he was a guy with blue hair.

"Oh? You know I'm a level 9 master of Koukenji and I ain't losing to a squirt like you." I just glared at him.

"Begin!" The guy in blue yelled.

At the signal, Kalbi charged at me and began punching me at high speeds, I saw each and every punch clearly, like time around me slowed down. I parried each punch skillfully and he raised his arm a bit too high, allowing me to swipe his feet from under him and I spun and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying, he tried to get up but I jumped up and did a summersault and landed on his back, sending cracks through the ground and he fainted.

"Winner is, Tatsumi." The announcer said, after a small pause as if trying to comprehend the battle had ended that quickly. The crowd cheered and I suddenly felt a bit warm and fuzzy, and couldn't help but give a small, genuine smile. I heard footsteps to my right and I looked.

Esdeath came down to the ring, I looked at her and had to force myself not to glare.

"Tatsumi… Right? Your performance was magnificent, I want to give you a reward." I closed my eyes and calmed myself, money is money, no matter who is giving it to me.

"Thank you very much." She approached me and I suddenly felt something click onto my neck, my eyes snapped open. I saw she had a collar around my neck.

"W-what are you…?"

"Shhh, from now on you belong to me."

"E-eh?" That's all I could get out of my mouth before she began dragging me by the neck.

"This place is too crowded, let's go somewhere else." She said. I tried to resist but she knocked me out. The last thing I thought was, 'what just happened?'

Then the world went black

* * *

Leone and Lubbock rushed back to the base and told the others what happened.

"What!? Tatsumi was taken away by Esdeath?!" Bulat.

"Did she find out that he was one of us?" Mein asked. Leone crossed her arms and shook her head.

"Don't know, he didn't show off any skills that might suggests being one of us. We watched as they went back to the palace and showed no signs that Tatsumi is in danger but, what do we do Bulat?" Leone asked the temporary leader.

Akame was panicking on the inside, her face showed worry. But she didn't say anything.

"First of all, we need to move the base farther away." Bulat said. They nodded, this place might not be safe anymore.

"What after? Don't tell me you want to go save him because that is stupid." Mein said. Bulat nodded.

"Your right, it's too risky. Akame, what do you think we should do?" Akame looked up. Why me?

She gritted her teeth, they were all looking at her and she couldn't avoid the decision. Should they go save Tatsumi? No, they might just be using him as bait, but the thought of Tatsumi dying made something burn on the inside.

"We… we won't make direct moves to save him, but he is a precious teammate and we will seize any opportunities to save him." Everyone smiled and nodded, Mein sighed.

The mood darkened again.

"Akame, there's one more thing, a very bad news." Leone said. Akame looked at her sadly, Leone nodded.

"Yoshiro, we saw him at the tournament, he matched the picture we got perfectly, and he is confirmed to be on the Special Task Force." Akame nodded, the burning feeling yet again creeping into her heart.

Why? Why did you not come with me?

Bulat looked at her sadly.

"There's no time to waste, Leone, I want you to keep an eye out on Tatsumi and report immediately if he is in danger. Akame and Lubbock, you two are going to help me move the hideout deeper into the forest." He said.

They all nodded and Leone head out. Akame closed her eyes one more time.

Don't die Tatsumi.

* * *

I woke up on a bed. A very grand bed, it was huge and soft and warm and immediately I knew this was not the hideout. What happened? I thought back and remembered everything. I narrowed my eyes, what did she want? I belong to her? What the hell? I shook my head and stood up and walked into the hallway.

"So you're up." I heard a voice. A familiar voice.

"So you do remember me. Why haven't you told anyone?" I asked. I turned around and came face to face with Yoshiro and his annoying smile.

"Heh, how do you know I haven't told anyone?" He asked.

"The fact I woke up on a soft bed and not in chains." I told him. He laughed.

"Ha! You're smart, and funny, I like you."

"Now tell me why." He stopped laughing and gave me a smile, but it was different, this was a regretful smile.

"Tatsumi… Is, is Akame safe?" He asked. My eyes narrowed.

"Why would I tell you?"

"Please." I looked at him oddly.

"Yes, she is safe." He smiled and looked out the window with a far away look.

"Anyways, I was told to wait until you woke up. You managed to catch Lady Esdeaths attention, she's fallen for you and now you are in for it." He said. I stood silent for a moment.

"Wait, what?"

"Didn't you hear me? She likes you." The world froze around me.

"What the hell?" Was all I could say before he dragged me away.

Only one thing echoed in my mind.

What the heck just happened?


	11. Chapter 11 - Waiting to Be Awoken

I decided that I should take this opportunity to assess the Jaegers strength, but staying too long is dangerous. I need to find a way out.

I was deep in thought as I sat by Esdeath on a cliff, overlooking a village, the village was suspected to be helping us, the revolutionary army. I watched in pain and horror as the whole village was burned to the ground in moments.

Bols used a flame throwing teigu, Runs teigu is in the form of wings, Wave didn't use his teigu. Seryu, the one who killed Sheele, used Coro and her modified body. Doctor Stylish stood in the back and didn't do much, and Kurome.

I narrowed my eyes, she looked too much like Akame, from her teigu to her hair color to the way she dressed. Too much alike.

I then turned my attention to Yoshiro. From observing him I saw a weakness in his teigu, he needs great concentration when affecting multiple targets, but that won't help me fight him. I thought back to a few hours ago, why did he care about Akame? Too many questions were on my mind.

For now, this group seems to be around the same strength as us, Night Raid. And that means they are dangerous, I need to relay this information as fast as possible. I don't know Yoshiro's motives and there's no guarantee he won't tell anyone about me.

"Tatsumi, you see this? One day you'll be able to do this and I will personally make sure of it." I heard Esdeath say as I looked at the burning village.

"You're really kind." I said. She smiled behind me.

"This is my first time experiencing love, I don't really know how to act." An idea came to my mind.

Can I convince her to join us? I looked at her.

"Esdeath, you are in love with me right? If I were to be a supporter of the revolutionary army would you join my side or would we have to be enemies." I asked suddenly. My only chance to try and convince her without anyone else around. If I can get her to join…

"If that's the case I would just have to convince you to stay by my side, if you don't I would force you." She said. I looked at her.

"You know how the capitol is right now right? How disgusting it is." She nodded.

"I am aware, but that is the law of the Universe, those who can't stand up for themselves become slaves and die, the survival of the fittest. I will always remain the strongest and you will be with me along the way." She said without a doubt.

From that moment on, I knew there was no hope in convincing her.

* * *

 _-Time Skip - Next Morning-_

I walked into the dining hall, bags under my eyes. The only 2 people there was Kurome and Wave. Wave looked at me.

"Didn't get much sleep?" He said teasingly. I sighed.

"She said she wouldn't do anything, and I woke up in the middle of the night as her body pillow. I couldn't sleep because of the anxiety."

Honestly, I feel like I betrayed someone last night, don't know who and don't know why. He sighed. I looked at Kurome, she caught me staring at her.

"You can't have any." She said. I sweat dropped, having a huge sense of déjà vu.

'Unless you join us you can't have any…'

It hit me, I needed to check.

"Kurome, you look oddly familiar. Oh yeah! You look just like Akame from the wanted posters." I said. She looked at her cookies and smiled darkly.

"Yeah, she's my beloved sister and once was an important part of society, I can't wait to see her again. I want to kill her with my own two hands." I looked at her sadly. The Capitol changed her.

There was a moment of silence when Esdeath walked in.

"Tatsumi, today we are going to Mount Fake for some monster hunting. During the day Kurome would be with me and you are with Wave, at night you are going to be with me. You guys take the west side, we take the east, beware of enemies." I nodded.

Today is my chance to get out of here.

* * *

 _-Time Skip – Few Hours Later-_

Wave and I were walking by the side of the cliff. I was looking for an opportunity to run, but he was following behind me and with no knowledge of his teigu, it's too dangerous.

But then again, he doesn't know mine.

I was debating on whether or not to fight him when I 'saw' someone above us at the top of the cliff. I felt him jump down and jumped back, pulling out my sword.

They landed in front, but oddly I couldn't see him. I immediately knew who it was.

"Tatsumi? What's wrong?" Wave asked me. I shook my head.

"Sorry, I thought I felt something, but I guess my senses are still pretty bad." Wave chuckled.

"Don't worry, senses come with experience. You'll get there eventually." I nodded.

I turned around to face Wave, then I felt something touching my back.

I slowly turned my head around but still couldn't see anything. What's going on?

I felt the thing touching my back draw something. I closed my eyes and tried to understand what Yoshiro was trying to do.

'Listen." I nodded.

'I want you to run down the path, a few hundred feet away there is an opening in the wall. Go in and I will make you invisible to Wave.' I nodded. I didn't know what he is planning nor what he hopes to accomplish with this, but I have no choice but to trust him.

Plus… Those eyes last night…

"Tatsumi!" I looked at Wave confused. He crossed his arms.

"Hello? Earth to Tatsumi? I've been yelling at you for a whole minute now." I gave him a nervous smile and rubbed the back of my head.

"Sorry, the lack of sleep is getting to me. We should head back, I don't think there is anything down here." He nodded and turned the other way.

I smirked, turned, and ran. A gust of wind blew in the direction I was running and my speed spiked, nearly doubling. My eyes, widened, I had no idea I could ride the wind. I skidded to a stop a few seconds later and slid into the gap.

The world blurred and then returned to normal. I walked out of the gap and looked around. I saw a blue object running at me. I reach out and Shinatsuhiko formed. I jumped into the air and stood there. The blue object was actually a man in armor.

Wave's teigu is apparently an armor teigu, similar to Incursio. But that's not all, he seemed to be faster than Bro wearing Incursio. I dropped down after he ran past and felt Yoshiro approach.

The world blurred and then returned to normal again, suddenly Yoshiro appeared before me.

"Where's my thank you?" He asked with a smirk. I glared at him.

"What's your motive? What do you get from saving me?" He smirked.

"All I ask is a simple favor." I continued to glare at him. "Stop it with the glare, I promise the favor will not harm you mentally, physically, or emotionally. Nor will it hurt those you care about."

"I don't trust you." He shook his head. His face changed to one of seriousness.

"I intend to help you. The Capitol sickens me as much as it does to you. In fact, I probably hate it more than you do, I've been here my entire life. I tried to change it from the inside, but it's not possible, I may be supposedly second strongest, but I have little to no influence politically."

I didn't trust him, but something inside told me to. He seemed to have read my mind.

"If you don't trust me, I will give you a solid reasons to." He took a whistle out of his pocket and blew, it was silent.

A few minutes later a bird, a messenger hawk flew down and onto his shoulder.

He handed me the whistle.

"This hawk will bring messages to me directly. If you have any plans that you want me to cooperate in, send me a message." I looked at him suspiciously.

"This is supposed to make me trust you?" He shook his head.

"Of course not. What will make you trust me is answers."

"To what."

"All your questions."

"You know all the answers to my questions?" He shook his head.

"I can help you sneak into the Capitol Archives. There are old documents, records, information, even the armies organization, Capitol defense intel. Tsukuyomi can get in there as easily as taking candy from a infant."

"You know that that's not easy at all right? They cry like hell." I responded without thinking about it.

He gave me a blank stare before bursting out in laughter.

"HAHAHA! I knew it! I like you." He patted me on the shoulder.

"You should leave before Wave comes back for you, contact me when you have the time, preferably without informing the others or else they will for sure try and stop you."

He smiled before he started to shimmer out of existence.

"I will leave Akame in your care…" He said before he disappeared, and I sensed him walk away.

I stood there thinking about what he said. Why would he want to help me? Should I trust him? Why does he care about Akame?

So many questions and no answers.

'Answers to all your questions...' I looked at the whistle before pocketing it.

I will trust him. Something tells me he is on our side.

"Tatsumi!" My eyes widened as I turned around, a blue object approaching me.

"Tsk, damn, he's fast." I ran and jumped off the edge into the forest below.

I ran with the wind, riding it and nearly doubling my speed. But he was fast. I could 'see' him, and he was slowly catching up.

His teigu is definitely faster than Incursio, and it doesn't look like he has a weapon.

I was so focused on him that I didn't see what was ahead. I skid to a stop at the edge of a giant valley. I turned around and there he was.

"Why did you run away?" I looked at him. Behind me was a very far drop, in front was Wave. I turned around and jumped.

"TATSUMI!" I heard as I fell, but I stopped my fall and flew to a ledge, hidden by vines. He looked down from above and was panicking. He quickly left, probably to report to Esdeath.

I smiled. He's definitely not he sharpest tool in the shed.

I suddenly felt a familiar pull.

I looked down into the valley. I told myself to stop but my body didn't listen.

I jumped.

* * *

As I fell, I made sure to keep myself from increasing in speed. I slowly glided down, I was about to reach my limit when I saw a lake, as beautiful lake. I landed and I was mesmerized.

Down in the deep, dark valley, laid a beautiful paradise. Because of the positioning of this place, the valley going from east to west, sunlight shone down here like normal and it was absolutely beautiful, I can't find any words to describe it. Surrounding the lake were bushes and small fruit trees, the water glittered purely and there were a few small animals.

I looked around, on the other side of the lake was a large tree, twice the size of the others. I followed my instincts and walked over there. Behind the tree, by its root, laid a sword. An old, rusty bronze sword that fit the definition of old.

I looked at it and felt the pull. The same pull from 7 years ago, the pull of a teigu. I looked at it, I saw past its rust and saw its beauty, a long sword that curved back and forth slightly. My hand reached for it.

The wind blew and logic kicks in, something the boss said echoed in my mind.

"… Few have tried and they died a horrible death…"

Can I risk what I have? Can I risk dying here and no one will know where I died? I thought about Night Raid, my village, all the people suffering, Akame.

I turned around.

I can't.

But one day, when I truly need the power, I will come back to retrieve you.

"Until then, stay in your slumber and wait for me. I will be the one to wake you up. I will bring you out of this paradise and drag you to war." I whispered.

I get the feeling, that day will come sooner than I would hope.

* * *

 **\- Meanwhile –**

Leone had reported that Tatsumi and one other person had left the palace towards the west side of Mount Fake, when we got that message Bulat, Lubbock and I left to save Tatsumi while Mein and Leone were to guard our new base.

We were running towards the place Leone told us they were headed when we saw Tatsumi run out from the forest and stopped by the cliff, we stood in the shadow watching the whole time. I felt relieved that he was alive, but that relief didn't last long.

Out of the tree's someone in blue armor showed up. Lubbock looked at Bulat.

"That armor looks a lot like yours." Bulat nodded.

"From my knowledge, that is Grand Chariot, an armored teigu made as a more aggressive, attack orientated version of my Incursio. He must be part of the Jaegars." Bulat explained and I nodded.

"Akame, what should we do?" Lubbock asked. I watched as Tatsumi jumped off the cliff and I prepared to jump out when Bulat held me back.

"Akame, don't worry about Tatsumi, his teigu allows him to fly. He should be safe, the real issue here is that guy, if I remember correctly from the book Grand Chariot should allow him to fly as well, we need to stop him." I nodded.

"Here's the plan, Leone reported that Esdeath might be around here along, not to mention we just saw Yoshiro. It is too dangerous to fight. All we need to do is distract him long enough for Tatsumi to get to a safe spot and we will retreat. Bulat, go bait him away from the cliff and we will back you up in case he proves stronger than we suspect." Bulat nodded.

He equipped Incursio and jumped out of the bush. The target immediately turned around and stopped for a second before yelling Night Raid. Bulat took the hint and began running our way. The target chased, his speed matching the newly evolved Incursio's speed.

We followed them and I kept a close eye on my surroundings. Yoshiro's teigu controls 3 of 5 senses at most, but one thing he can't control is a person's instincts. I've been honing my instincts for years now and if I keep my guard up, I should be able to respond to his attacks.

Bulat stopped at a clearing by a stream and a waterfall. They stood still for a second.

"Incursio, you wearing that means you are part of Night Raid. As a member of the Special Task Force, the Jaegars, I will bring you to justice!" Our Target declared. Bulat laughed.

"Enough talk, let's fight." He said. Our target brought up his fists and dashed at Bulat, my eyes widened at its speed, Bulat dashed to the right to avoid, if it wasn't for the recent evolution, he probably would have been hit and it would have hurt.

He brought up his fists and dashed towards the target and the target responded immediately by ducking and sending a fist at Bulat, Bulat jumped backwards. The battle continued at a high pace, they would dodge attacks, trade punches, lock fists and armor pieces broke off. They separated and stood for a moment, trying to catch their breaths.

Bulat looked towards my direction and I knew what he was going to do.

He ran.

Our target looked confused for a moment.

"W-what?! Come back here!" He was about to chase when we heard another voice.

"Don't chase, he is probably baiting you. Not to mention he was not going all out against you, at your level you can't hope to defeat the hundred man slayer Bulat." Yoshiro said as he shimmered into existence. Our target looked at him.

"Yoshiro! You were here to whole time?! Why didn't you help?!" He yelled, Yoshiro just smiled.

"What you really need to wonder about is how you are going to explain why Tatsumi got away." Wave looked at him.

"Oh shit! Tatsumi is dead! What do we do?" Our target said, panicking. His armor came off and showed a young man wearing all blue.

"Tatsumi is not dead, he is a clever man and wouldn't die so easily. Although I doubt the fact that Bulat showed up the moment after Tatsumi jumped was a coincidence. It's possible that he is part of Night Raid." Yoshiro said. Our target looked at him.

"Anyways, let's head back. We need to report todays finding. I believe the intel of Incursio evolving again will prove to be a sufficient trade for you losing Tatsumi, maybe she will even go easy on you." Yoshiro said. As they left Yoshiro looked at us, my eyes widened. He knew that we were here to whole time.

"Let's go Lubbock. This place is dangerous, plus we need to go make sure Tatsumi is safe." Lubbock nodded and we headed back.

* * *

After a bit of rest I managed to fly up from the valley, resisting the pull and with a lot of effort. Returned to base and found Leone waiting there. I was immediately pulled into a headlock and had my hair ruffled. After some teasing she brought me to the new base.

I was welcomed back by everyone. Bulat put his arm around me, Leone head locked me again, Lubbock was jealous, Mein was being Mein and Akame smiled in the background. I told them what I saw of the Jaegars and their powers, then they threw a huge party for me and Leone and Lubbock are currently wasted in the living room.

Bulat wasn't drunk at all and Akame and I didn't drink.

Here I am, sitting on my bed, thinking about everything that happened today. The feeling I have right now, thinking about the teigu I left behind, it makes me feel empty. I feel like I should have taken the sword, that the sword would have made me feel whole and alive, but I knew the risk was too great.

I have too many things I need to protect, to many things I can't leave behind, too many things I have yet to accomplish, I can't risk it. But I get the feeling in my gut, I feel that even now the sword is whispering to me.

'One day, you will wake me from my slumber…'

I shook my head. I need to get some rest, a lot has happened in the past two days. I got kidnapped, got a whole lot of intel on our biggest threat, found another teigu and came back alive. Not to mention…

I looked at the whistle.

Something hit me, something I can't ignore.

I got up out of my bed and left my room, and I headed towards Akame's room. I knocked on the door and waited. She came to the door a bit sleepy and I blushed, she was in her night wear. I shook my head.

"Akame, can I talk to you?" I asked, she nodded and I went into her room. It was really plain, no decorations and Murasame laid by her bed. I took a nearby chair and sat down, she sat on the bed.

"Akame. What is your relation to Yoshiro?" I asked. She looked at me and looked down sadly.

"…"

"..."

"…"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"… He was my best friend." I looked at her a bit shocked.

"Kurome, my sister and I were sold out by our village. We were forced into a trial to become assassins for the Capitol. Kurome and I lived through the trial and we were 2 of the first 8 to pass it. But we were forcibly separated and I joined the elite 7, the group made up of the first 7 to pass the trial." I sat there quietly listening to her dark, dark past.

"I was the seventh to pass, the first to pass was Yoshiro. Apparently, he had possession of a teigu, it allowed him to pass faster than any other before him. He and I became friends, even though he was obviously stronger, he was talented and fast to learn, he was my best friend." I felt a 'but' coming, and I was right.

"But… We were sent on a suicide mission, the eight people of the elite seven, including our captain who wielded Murasame. Everyone in our squad died except Yoshiro and I, I took Murasame from our captain's dead body and we completed the mission. Throughout the years I was an assassin, I killed many alongside of Yoshiro, but on the mission to assassinate our boss Najenda, she convinced me to join her. I tried to convince Yoshiro, but he refused, saying he had much to do." I listened to her sadly. Separated from her one and only friend, who is now her enemy.

"Akame, I…" I suddenly stopped, tensed, so did she,

"You feel that?"

"Yeah, intruders."

"Crap, I must have led them to us."

"We have no choice. Let's go." I nodded.

With that, another long night began.

* * *

 **\- Meanwhile -**

Back at the palace, Wave knelt before Esdeaths throne, while bricks on his knee thanks to Kurome. Esdeath was a bit pissed.

"Wave, you might be strong but you are naïve. It is one thing to let Tatsumi go, but it's a whole different sin to let a member of Night Raid go." Wave looked at her.

"I was going to chase but Yoshiro told me not to." Esdeath looked at Yoshiro, who smiled.

"Yes, I did say that. I suspected that he was baiting us into a trap, and I sensed that there were at least 2 enemies waiting in the shadows. It would have been close, but I doubt that we would be able to take on the powered up thousand man slayer along with two other members with just the two of us." Esdeath looked back at Wave.

"If that's the case, then you will only be punished for letting Tatsumi get away and almost taking the bait. Kurome, brick." Wave yelled in pain as his legs were crushed.

"Milady, regarding Tatsumi, how should we deal with him if he shows up as part of Night Raid and our enemy?" Ran asked.

"If he becomes our enemies, your lives take priority, it would be best if he is captured alive, but whatever is necessary is necessary." Everyone nodded.

"Seryu, have we heard back from Dr. Stylish?" Seryu shook her head. Esdeath nodded and walked out of the room.

"Tatsumi, I get the feeling we will meet again. And when we do, you will become mine."

She said to herself, as she walked down the dark hallway of the Imperial Castle.


	12. Chapter 12 - You Did This

I immediately ran to the window and opened it, the wind blew past us and I closed my eyes. I discovered that concentrating can increase the detail of my vision and range.

"There are a lot of people. Nearly 100." Akame nodded. I looked outside.

"Tsk, I brought them here. How did they tracks me?" Akame looked at me.

"No use overthinking it, what's done is done. You came back safely and that's all that matters." She said. I looked back at her, and smiled.

"You're right, let's go."

We ran separate ways, Akame went to check if there were anyone in the building, I jumped straight out the window and floated to the ground. I was surrounded immediately by a dozen enemies. They all looked like clowns. My eyes narrowed, these are obviously not normal humans.

They ran towards me a high speed and I threw out a wind blade, splitting 3 in half. The other 9 reached me in seconds, I swung my sword in attempt to decapitate one of them, but it felt like I struck metal. I looked in shock as the guy barely even reacted and swung his metal claws at me. I jumped back and reassessed the situation.

Enhanced soldiers, looks like I can't kill them with normal methods. I charged another wind blade but quickly realized my mistake as they leaped at me.

They were a lot faster than I expected. I tried to jump back but I didn't have enough time. Panicking, I swung my sword at them.

My sword hit the first guy and he split in half, the others beside him were blasted far away from me. I charged another wind blade and swung at them, killing all the rest. I looked at Shinatsuhiko in shock and smiled.

So I can also enhance my blade to increase slicing power huh? Why did I never think about that before?

I refocused, there's a time and place for everything

I closed my eyes. It seems the area around me is clear, Bulat is fighting in the front, Akame is inside, Lubbock is also probably inside, I don't know where Mein is and Leone is sleeping in the bath? No, she's knocked out. I should head to the front and help Bulat.

I boosted my speed and ran to the front. I skid to a stop and found Bulat standing in the middle of a series of corpse's and staring at a man. The man was tall and had a menacing look, his arms and hands are unnaturally large. I saw his weapons and my eyes narrowed in anger.

"Bro, that's Extase isn't it." I walked beside Bulat and looked at the enemy. He laughed.

"Oh? Another one? Fine, I'll take on both of you with my Teigu!" My eyes widened in anger.

"Yours? You're not worthy!"

I dashed at him in anger and swung my sword at him, he brought up his hand blocked Shinatsuhiko. My eyes widened, he also has body modification? He smiled and grabbed my sword, before swinging Extase at me with his other hand.

I let go of Shinatsuhiko and jumped back, Shinatsuhiko dissolved and re-appeared in my hands.

"TATSTUMI! KEEP YOUR COOL AND NEVER UNDERESTIMATE YOUR OPPONENT! I THOUGHT I TAUGHT YOU THAT!" I heard Bulat shout, I looked down at the ground. I thought I have gotten over her death. I looked back at my opponent.

"Bro! I'll take him! Extase can cut through anything in this world right?! Then your armor won't work! Plus, I need to do this." I whispered the last part.

"No way! We both take him, I'm not about to let you fight him on your own!" He yelled. I felt a bit insulted that he didn't trust in my abilities, but I understood his point. Last time I tried fighting on my own I almost died to Yoshiro. I nodded and as about to charge when a voice came from the sidelines.

"Both of you back off, this is my battle. Just seeing someone else wield Extase makes me sick. I will destroy you in one blow." Mein said. The enemy laughed.

"You? Like a puny little girl like you can do anything to me!" He said. Mein glared at him.

"Let's go Tatsumi, some fights need to be fought alone." I wanted to protest but complied. I ran off with Bulat in the direction of multiple enemies, but before we even reached the tree line a huge blast of energy shot into the sky and I turned around and shivered.

"Bro, remind me never to piss off Mein, I almost died when I tried to wake her up a few weeks ago but this is on another level." Bulat laughed, despite our situation he seemed confident. I smiled, I really looked up to him.

We were about to turn around when I spotted something shine in the bushes. My eyes widened when a man jumped out of the bushed and was above Mein in a split second.

"MEIN! WATCH O-." I didn't even finish when Leone popped out of nowhere and hammered him back down to the ground, creating a huge crater.

I cringed a bit and sweat dropped as I watch Leone start ranting angrily at the guy while strangling him, then catch a hidden knife in her mouth, before chucking the guy into a boulder, destroying said boulder.

"Are you okay sis?" I asked.

"No problem! I have rapid regeneration in this form!" She replied smiling. Akame and Lubbock came to join us and we finally managed to regroup. Just as I was about to relax we were surrounded by dozens of the enhanced soldiers.

"Tsk, Bro, they managed to regroup too. What do we do? I can't freely use my teigu with you guys here." Bulat nodded.

"This is going to be an issue."

"But these are the last ones." Lubbock said. I nodded.

"Alright, let's finish them off." Akame nodded. But suddenly I felt weak in the knees, and I dropped to my knees and stabbed my sword into the ground. I looked around me and everyone except Bulat had collapsed. Bulat looked at us in shock.

"What's wrong!?" I looked at him.

"M-my body, f-feels weak. I-I can't stand." I said, doing my best to resist.

"T-this is poison." Akame said struggling to push herself up. "It's being carried by the wind."

I clicked my tongue. I closed my eyes and the wind started to blow the other way. I collapsed on my stomach.

"B-bro. I managed to blow the poison from our vicinity. But it will take us a while to recover, sorry." I said with great difficulty. Bulat nodded.

"You did good Tatsumi, don't worry, I'll hold them off until you guys can recover." I rolled onto my back and looked up, trying to relax myself so I can heal faster. I stared at the sky and noticed something from the side of my vision.

"What's that? Enemy reinforcements?" I said, pushing myself up with my elbows and looking at the giant flying thing. Mein pushed herself up and took out her high-tech sniper gadget.

"It's the boss!" As she said that, something dropped down from the flying thing and crashed landed on the ground killing a group of the enemies.

He wore all white and had blue hair, two horns, a strange tear like marking in the middle of his chest, and wielded a stave-like weapon with bricks on the end.

We faintly heard the voice of Najenda ordering him to destroy all enemies. The guy brought up his weapon and blades appeared before they began to spin like a saw. He then charged and began tearing through the enemies.

Bulat looked at him before he decided to join to fray. They decimated through the enemies and the enemy numbers dropped. They stood back to back.

"You're pretty good."

"Same to you." The enemies began to bloat and my eyes widened. Human bombs!?

"BRO!" I yelled. I willed the wind to blow and the dust cleared. Bro stood nearly Unscathed, his armor a bit cracked and burnt. The guy on the other hand had lost an arm and had a huge hole in his body, but there was no blood. Our eyes widened when is regenerated in an instant.

"A-an organic Teigu, human form?" I said in shock. I realized that this was no time to be in shock, the fact that they exploded means the guy in charge is near us.

I closed my eyes and concentrated. The wind blew across the land and I saw everything. My eyes snapped open.

"BOSS! 8 O'CLOCK ON THE CLIFF THERE ARE 4 PEOPLE!" I yelled with all my might. There was a moment of silence.

"CONFIRMED! SUSANOO, CATCH THEM!" The teigu, Susanoo, complied and ran off. I tried to stand, it was easier.

"Bro, the effects of the poison are wearing off." I said. He nodded.

"You guys rest and wait, I'll go assist our new comrade." He was about to go when Akame stopped him.

"Wait, take me with you." Bulat looked at her, and nodded. He carried Akame on his back and ran off. In the distance, I watched in horror as a danger beast appeared out of nowhere and it suddenly grew 5 times its size into a monstrosity. I saw Bulat, Akame and Susanoo dashing around and dodging the Beasts strikes.

"Tsk, like I can just sit here and wait." I pushed myself to stand and took Shinatsuhiko and its sheath off my back and held in a quick draw stance. I closed my eyes and the wind stopped blowing, the sheath glowed grey, then white, then a shade of green before the green intensified.

I was dripping in sweat as I mentally held the flood gates closed. I have one strike, one strike that will need to travel half a mile, cut through a dozen yards of extremely hard metal. I laughed a bit on the inside, anyone would think this is crazy.

But…

I drew Shinatsuhiko as quickly as possible.

The flood gates opened and a huge blast of wind blew me to the floor, landing on my stomach.

I pushed myself up with my elbows and watched at a very thin crescent of greenish light flew towards the monster at speeds of nearly 500 miles per hour, reaching the monster in seconds and the monster fell onto its back with its legs decapitated from the knees down. I chuckled.

"Hehe, I did it… Somehow…" I said before the world went black.

* * *

I woke up and the first thing I felt was the wind blowing across my face. I sat up holding my head, this headache is killing me. I shook my head and looked around and found my self-surrounded by clouds. I stood up and found myself in midair, standing on something invisible.

"Where am I?" I heard a whisper. No, it's better described as I felt a voice, I closed my eyes and opened them again. The voice whispered to me.

'Tatsumi… Tatsumi…" I looked around me.

"I'm here."

'Tatsumi… You have yet to scratch the surface of your potential…' I closed my eyes and felt it.

"How do I improve? Tell me."

'You are underestimating my power… I'm the essence of nature… I can only grant you what you think I can grant you…'

"Am I the one that's limiting myself?"

'In many ways… yet at the same time no… it is for you to discover…' I opened my eyes and caught a glimpse of greenish light in the shape of a ball before the clouds swirled around me and everything went black.

* * *

I shot up from my laid down position. The first thing I saw was Akame kneeling in front of me, the wind blew past us at high speeds and her hair flew in the air. I blushed a bit and looked away and found everyone looking at me.

"What's wrong? Where are we?" Najenda was sitting near me and spoke up.

"We are on a flying dangerous beast to our new hideout location."

"Never mind that, what just happened?" Lubbock cut in. I tilted my head.

"Your sheath was glowing and the clouds around us got blown away the wind that was coming from you, we almost got blown off our ride." I had no idea what was going on.

"What? What do you mean? No, the real question is, who the hell are you guys?" I asked. There was a moment of silence. Did I say something odd?

"W-what?" Lubbock spoke up.

"Do you not remember us? What are our names?" Bulat asked.

"Umm, Lubbock, Najenda, Akame, Bulat, Mein, Susanoo and I don't know hers." I said.

"So you do remember us." Mein said with a dead pan. I shook my head.

"I don't though, who are you guys? Why do I know your names? Why are we flying on this thing?" I said.

"Why aren't you panicking?" Bulat asked. I shook my head.

"I don't know, I should be, but I don't feel any anxiety or feel in danger. Enough answers from me, answer my questions." I said a bit annoyed.

"Night Raid, Capitol, corruption, killing, death, pain, suffering, fighting, assassins, danger, war, Revolutionary army. Ring any bells?" Leone asked. I shook my head.

"Other than Night Raid, Capitol and Revolutionary Army I don't remember, what are those places? Restaurants?" I asked. They looked at each other.

"What the hell is going on?" Lubbock said.

* * *

We landed in the middle of the forest and the thing we were flying on flew away. The whole hour we were flying they were interrogating me, asking me questions about a war, names of places, who is what, what is who, why's, how's, when's, Leone hugging me, Akame staring at me, Bulat knocking me on the back of my head, the other girl trying to seduce me, it was crazy.

But for some reasons I didn't feel anxious, nor panicked, nor out of place. What is going on?

"Anyway, we will find a way to help you Tatsumi, but for now we need to get everything set up, let me first introduce the new members. Chelsea, a skilled and experienced assassin that has completed as many missions as Akame, and the new Imperial Arm that I chose me as it's master, Lightning speed – Susanoo." Susanoo nodded, then noticed something and walked up to me. He then proceeded to tuck in my shirt properly. I sweat dropped.

"Oh yeah, Susanoo is a neat freak, so don't mind him. As for Chelsea she is a bit…" She didn't finish as Chelsea began playing with Akame's hair.

"You're Akame huh? You're really cute! Here, you deserve a treat." I could see Akame's eyes shine.

"Welcome to Night Raid." My eyes widened.

' _Welcome, to Night Raid.'_

"GAH!" I yelled in pain and I fell on my knees wrapping my arms around my head.

Night Raid, Imperial Capitol, Revolutionary Army, Death, Pain, Suffering, Corruption, War, Jaegars, Akame…

It all came rushing back to me. The wind blew past me and the pain eased. I rolled onto my back and looked up at the sky. What is going on?

"Tatsumi! Are you okay?" Akame said rushing to my side. I raised an eyebrow but brushed it aside.

"Yeah, it's all good. I don't know what happened. Why I lost my memories, parts of it at least."

"So you remember now?" Lubbock asked. I nodded.

"Do you know anything, what happened when you were unconscious?" I nodded, but for some reason, my whole being told me not to tell.

"Anyways, let's continue, I'll tell you guys tonight." They all nodded, Najenda continued with her speech but I wasn't listening.

What is happening to me?

* * *

I laid on my bed, thinking. Susanoo is actually made not to fight but to be a servant, he built this huge house in hours. While he did I just sat around, forbidden to train for a day. I watched as Chelsea and Mein fought over everything, apparently Lubbock felt the need to compete with Susanoo.

I closed my eyes, so much things happened today, but at the same time, nothing really happened. Last night felt like it happened so long ago, the events that happened when I first joined feels like it happened years ago. As I thought about how my life has changed, I fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Yet again, I found myself somewhere in the middle of nowhere. This time, I was surrounded by fog, on a grassy plain, at least that's what I think it is. The fog is so thick I can barely see my hand. I felt it yet again, a voice that's calling out to me.

I saw past the fog, and walked forwards, towards where I think I should be. As I walked I saw something, a light, a greenish light. I reached just under the light, it was a sphere, and I followed my instincts and reached for it.

As I touched it, the sphere exploded, sending waves of wind and dispersing the fog, showing my surroundings. I stood, in the middle of a beautiful plain.

Stained with blood.

I looked around, but I was calm. I felt nothing.

'Tatsumi…'

"I'm here."

'Tatsumi… this is the extent of your powers… do you want this kind of power?' I shook my head.

"Yes, I want, I need the power to destroy my enemies."

'…All power comes with a price… I can grant you what you want… but are you willing to suffer for it?'

"Without hesitation."

'Then, I will grant you the power.'

'And you will pay a great price. Starting now.'

Everything went black.

* * *

I opened my eyes. I looked around in shock, with my sword by my side. Wood, furniture, everything laid in carnage around me.

"W-what happened?" I looked around and found that I was kneeling on the ground, strings tying my hands behind my back.

"What are you doing Tatsumi?!" I looked to my side and Bulat stood there, in his armor that was slightly ripped up, and his arm is bleeding.

"B-bro! Why are you hurt! What happened?!"

"You did, Tatsumi." I looked to my side. Akame stood beside me, slightly dirty and her hair was ruffled.

"You did all of this, Tatsumi."


	13. Chapter 13 - True Potential

"I-I did this?" I whispered to myself and looked around.

Akame looked tired, Bulat was a bit cut up, Lubbock behind me looked at me suspiciously, Mein stood by the side dusting off her clothes, Leone sighed, Susanoo was staring at me, Chelsea was looking away and Najenda was looking around.

The new base, our house that Susanoo built was completely destroyed with wood, pieces of furniture, everything lying in pieces around us. The clearing was larger now, with trees cut down, slash marks and craters everywhere.

"W-what happened? How long was I out?" They looked at each other.

"You don't remember anything? I thought you had perfect memory?" I shook my head.

"What happened? Tell me everything!" I said to them, a bit desperate.

"We were down stairs, you had gone to bed early and we were relaxing from the fight when you came down, but you were different.

* * *

 _\- Flashback – 30 minutes ago –_

The atmosphere is light and happy, a bit homey. Mein was arguing with Chelsea because she took her cake, Lubbock was talking to Najenda, Bulat was speaking with Susanoo. Akame smiled at the mood but was thinking about Tatsumi, something happened that caused him to lose his memories but not really lose them. What happened?

She closed her eyes and leaned against the wall, listening to the other members talking, her family. But the atmosphere was interrupted with a huge explosion.

"Enemy attack?!" Leone asked. Lubbock shook his head.

"I sense nothing. Also, they had no way of tracking us." Akame's eyes widened.

"Tatsumi!" She said. They rushed outside and found Tatsumi kneeling in the middle of a crater, Shinatsuhiko stabbed into the ground. There is a huge whole in the roof above Tatsumi's room. Greenish wind swirled around Tatsumi and he opened his eyes.

His eyes glowed green, with no pupil, the gem in the middle of his sword also glowed the same color.

"Tatsumi! What's wrong?" Bulat yelled but Tatsumi didn't answer, he stood up and swung his sword. Akame's eyes widened.

"Get down!" The wind blade passed above them and the house was sliced in half and front collapsed. Everyone drew their weapons.

"Tatsumi! Wake up!" Leone said. Tatsumi responded by disappearing and reappearing in front of Susanoo, his sword glowing green and in a second had chopped Susanoo's arm off. He didn't even flinch and kicked Tatsumi away, his arm regenerating.

"Tatsumi! If you don't stop this we will have to forcibly subdue you!" Najenda warned, but Tatsumi just got back up.

"We are going to have to capture him, he's coming at us with the intent to kill. We have to fight him to kill too or else he might actually kill one of us." Akame looked at her.

"But Tatsumi is a precious comrade, not to mention a teigu wielder, if we try to kill him-." Najenda cut her off.

"I know, you have to fight him like you want to kill him, but as long as you don't actually want to kill him we won't be forced into the rule of Teigu fighting." Everyone nodded.

"No time, he's coming." Bulat warned. Tatsumi disappeared again, this time appearing before Mein, Bulat responded by sending a punch at him with the intent to knocking him unconscious, but that didn't work out too well.

Tatsumi didn't even flinch at the punch coming at him, he instead used his momentum to jump over Mein and landed on the other side. A cut appeared on Bulat's arm and he held his arm.

"Tsk, not too deep but I underestimated Tatsumi, in fact he seems stronger than ever." Bulat said. Mein jumped into the bushed and Lubbock surrounded Najenda with string.

Susanoo dashed towards Tatsumi, and swung his weapon but Tatsumi jumped over it, Akame appeared before him with her sword sheathed but Tatsumi didn't stop going up. He stopped midair and his sword was glowing, Leone appeared behind him and brought both her hands down ready to hammer Tatsumi into the ground, but he just shot to the left and Leone missed. Akame's eyes widened.

"The wind! It stopped!" That was all she could say when they were all forced to the ground by a huge blast of wind from above, Leone was dropped and crash landed creating another crater. Tatsumi slowly floated to the ground when a small laser came at him.

He swung his sword and a very thin wind blade cut the laser in half and forced Mein to jump away. Her eyes were wide.

"How? I know this isn't much of a pinch because it's a 7 vs 1, but how did he cut through my Pumpkins laser with that puny thing."

"I think he compacted it, in that instant he sent out the same amount of energy as a small wind blade, but compacted it so that it had more penetrating power, not bad." Susanoo explained. Tatsumi responded by stabbing his sword into the ground and a tornado appeared before him.

"Dodge!" Bulat said as wind blades, small ones, flew from the tornado in all directions at high speeds. The squad was able to dodge most of them, Bulat got a few more cuts, and so did Susanoo.

"This isn't going to work if we keep staying on the defensive. Susanoo, Akame, Leone we need to charge him. Mein you act as cover and Lubbock be ready to tie him up." Everyone nodded.

Bulat charged at Tatsumi and Tatsumi responded by sending a blade right at Bulat, Bulat side stepped but Tatsumi was already in his face. He was about to swing his sword when Mein shot at him and he instead turned his attention and brought his sword to a defensive position, his sword yet again glowing. The wave of energy was split in half when it hit his sword but Tatsumi we knocked away by Susanoo.

Tatsumi was getting up when Leone appeared in his face and struck him in the stomach, Akame came and kicked him in the back, sending him to the ground. Lubbock immediately tied his hands behind his back and Chelsea hit a pressure point that knocked him out.

"Whew, that was difficult." Leone said. Bulat and I nodded.

"He is strong for sure, but just now he used his teigu way more efficient than ever before. In fact, I don't think any of us would be able to beat him 1 on 1 if he was that efficient normally. What's going on? First losing memory, then this." Bulat said. Najenda nodded.

"Just now, he seemed to be better described as possessed. Maybe he lost control over its power."

"We need to ask when he wakes up." Leone said.

* * *

 _\- End Flashback -_

I looked around in shock. How did I do it? Normally I couldn't even beat Akame one on one and now they are telling me it took 5 of them to bring me down? Even though they were trying not to kill me, how did I do it?

'Then, I will grant you the power, and you will pay a great price. Starting now.'

Was this the extent of my powers? I didn't even need to use my trump card. I smiled. Najenda narrowed her eyes.

"You seem to have remembered something." I nodded and looked up happily.

"This is my true power! This afternoon and just now I had a dream, my Teigu spoke to me and said that it will grant me power. With this power I can help destroy the empire, I can fight Esdeath! Look how much it took to bring me down, if I keep unleashing this I can-"

I felt impact and flew to the ground beside me. I held my cheek and looked back.

Akame's arm was extended and her bangs covered her eyes. I looked at her in shock.

"Tatsumi… look at what you did! Look at who you attacked! Look at who you hurt! Look at what you destroyed! Is this what you wanted?! Is the power to destroy everything, no matter friend or foe what you want to possess. Because if that's the case you are not the Tatsumi I know!" I looked at her, staring at her, everything sinking in.

"The Tatsumi I know cares about his teammates! The Tatsumi I know cares about his family! The Tatsumi I know would not want this kind of power!" She yelled. I stared down at the ground.

What have I done?

The power Shinatsuhiko granted me. The place just now where I heard her voice. Is it a vision? My future if I continue down this path. The wind blew past and my mind cleared up.

The wind is so powerful. From most comforting breeze to the most violent storm, the sailor's best ally to the navy's worst enemy. It can be used as a weapon of destruction or a bringer of peace.

Shinatsuhiko had a previous owner, a monster that used this teigu to the fullest potential and brought upon destruction. I can feel the sword whispering to me yet again.

'Which path will you follow? The path of peace and protection, or the path of war and destruction? There is no right or wrong, but you will never turn back once you begin walking.'

The scene was not a vision of the future, it's a vision of the past. And I will not walk the same path as him.

"I'm sorry. I fell hard, harder than I ever had, and ever will. Akame, you can slap me again if you want, in fact, please do." Akame looked at me.

"Have you come to your senses?" I nodded.

"I'll tell you guys exactly what happened today, and I promise it will never happen again."

* * *

I finished my explanation and they all stared at me.

"So let me get this straight, your teigu is sentient and told you that you haven't unlocked its true power, then offered you the power and you accepted it. But it was not the kind of power you wanted, instead it was the power of mass destruction and now you realize it so you won't use it for that purpose, am I right?" Najenda summarized.

I nodded.

"That's a bit much to take in. Can you still wield Shinatsuhiko at full power?" I shook my head.

"I don't know, the power is there, I unlocked its full power. But I need to learn to use it and only when I know how to fully utilize all its abilities can I use Shinatsuhiko at full power. Right now it's a matter of experience." I said.

"So you can't." Lubbock said with a dead pan. I shook my head.

"The power is there, but no matter how powerful something is, if I don't know how to use it it's meaning less. It's like if someone who wields Murasame who doesn't know how to fight, or is too weak or slow to utilize it properly, the power to kill is there but they can't use it." Lubbock nodded in understanding.

"The only other way around this is if I let Shinatsuhiko take over, like I just did. But need I say more?" They nodded.

"When she possesses you, she disregards friends or foes and just destroys right? But why? As the wielder doesn't that mean your wishes are its duties?"

"I don't know how this works, but I suspect it's something along the lines of 'Following one order'. I asked for power and when it took over, it gave me power but I lost reason and control over the power. Or something like that." I said before sighing.

"Enough of that, what's more important is what do we do now? Camp outside?" Najenda shrugged.

"What else can we do? You kind of shredded our house." I looked down in shame. Bulat laughed.

"She's just kidding Tatsumi, no one blames you. No one died and that's all that matters." I tried to protest but decided it was no point. These people weren't ones to hold grudges against each other. I smiled. Another reason why I love this place.

I followed them in the forest. Where we set up a camp fire, Akame went hunting and brought back some meat that Susanoo and I cooked up. After dinner we all went to do what we had been assigned. Lubbock went to set up his strings, Leone and Chelsea went to go take a bath and later help Bulat and Susanoo collect wood. Najenda went to a nearby waterfall to think. Akame and I were let off duty because I was too exhausted and Akame because she was Akame.

I sat on a branch and closed my eyes. Akame was on the branch on the other side of the trunk.

"A lot happened today."

"Mhm." She replied.

"Hey Akame, thank you. You helped me snap out of my desire to become powerful."

"…"

"Now that I think about it, why? Why did I desire this power? The only thing that came to mind was fear."

"Fear?"

"Yeah, I was scared. The pain I felt when I lost my best friends, the pain I felt when Sheele died. I don't want to suffer that ever again. I don't want to feel so helpless and weak ever again."

"…"

"I never told anyone this. But the day Sheele died, on the way back from the mission. That was the first time I met Yoshiro." I felt her move, probably listening intently now.

"I 'saw' him, and for some reason I was compelled to fight him alone. That was the first time I realized I was scared of death. He killed me in one of his illusions and that pain and fear I felt. It was so scary, it reminded me of the death of my friends but even worse." I stopped to gather my thoughts before continuing.

"It actually made me question, can I sacrifice myself for a friend? Would I have died in the place of my friends if I could? I never want to experience that again."

"Tatsumi…"

I chuckled a bit.

"Heh, sorry. I don't know what I'm saying. I feel so at home around here, I don't want to lose this. If anyone here dies I don't know how I would deal with it. Especially you …" I said the last part but realized what I said and blushed.

What am I saying? Did I just confess my feelings? Do I have feelings for her? I hope she didn't hear that…

"Tatsumi…" I heard, but it was off. I stood up and looked behind the trunk. She was asleep.

Her hair was blowing in the wind and the look on her face. It was so relaxed, so at peace, so pretty. I couldn't deny it, not possible, she was beautiful. As she slept she was mumbling my name and I felt happy, she cares about me. I smiled, this creature doesn't seem like she belongs in the battle field.

I picked her up bridal style and flew down from the tree. I landed as gently as possible and set her so she was leaning by the trunk. I brushed a hair out of her face and smiled. I took out Shinatsuhiko and carved a few sentences onto the wood of a nearby tree.

I walked off with a serious face, I needed to do this, and it's now or never.

* * *

Akame….Akame….Akame!

I woke up. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and looked up. I was surrounded by my comrades, they looked a bit panicked.

"What's wrong?" I asked still half asleep.

"This is bad! Tatsumi is gone!" I instantly woke up.

"What?" Leone pointed to my left.

"Look for yourself." I looked. To my left, carved into the wood, was a few sentences.

' _Today I have learnt so much, including how weak I am mentally and physically, just training with Night Raid like this is no longer enough. I need to return to the wild and learn the powers of nature from nature itself. I promise I will come back, and when I do, I promise that I will be stronger. Please stay safe, I will be there when you need me. – Tatsumi'_

I read it, then re-read it. My eyes widened.

"Where's the boss." They shook their head.

"Don't know, we just came back and found you asleep down here. We came over to wake you and noticed this."

"We need to go find the boss and tell her this." I said. Everyone nodded.

We ran towards the waterfall nearby and found the Boss sitting by the cliff, staring at the waterfall smoking.

"Boss! This is bad! Tatsumi! He-"

"I know." We stopped.

"W-what do you mean you know?" Lubbock asked.

"He came and told me his decision, and I approved."

"What?!" I yelled.

"Why would you let him go? He is a big part of our power and now we don't know where he is nor whether he is safe or not."

"I know that."

"Then why!"

"Because the look on his face told me to." There was a moment of silence.

"It's been so long since I last saw a face with such determination. He told me that he felt the need, he sensed something calling out to him, pulling him towards someplace somewhere. He will come back, I know it. And he will come back stronger than we can imagine." Akame wasn't done yet.

"But what if he is caught by the Jaegars again? You know they are on the move, what if there is a powerful danger beast out there and he encounters it? What if."

"Akame!"

Silence.

"Do you not trust in Tatsumi's abilities? He is strong, he grew up in the wild, he fought in the wild, and honestly, I believe he thrives better in the wild than with us. He will remain safe, believe in him Akame."

"I-…"

There was nothing more that could be said. Nothing more needed to be said.

Tatsumi was gone.

But he will come back.

He will. He must.

* * *

 **Hey guys, BzS here.**

 **And honestly, this chapter and half of last chapter was not planned out at all.**

 **What basically happened was I planned out the Docter Stylish fight, but then I didn't know what to do so I just started writing. Then the ending product was last chapter. This chapter was the same, I did not have Tatsumi leaving planned out at all, it just came to me and I was like, that's a cool idea.**

 **Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed it, this is where this becomes my story.**

 **We Out - BzS**


	14. Chapter 14 - The Month in Between

Akame sat at the table, poking at her breakfast. Susanoo somehow managed to rebuild the hideout in 1 night, not needing to sleep. Leone and Lubbock looked at each other nervously, you know something is wrong when Akame pokes at her food, like really, really wrong.

"Akame, are you okay?" Lubbock asked. Akame shook her head.

"It's just, I'm still trying to accept Tatsumi leaving." Chelsea scoffed.

"Tsk, to be honest, he is a failure as an assassin." Akame's head shot up. Lubbock and Leone looked at her in shock, Bulat's eyes narrowed a bit.

"I read about him and you guys, Night Raid before joining. Tatsumi and the one who died in the line of duty, Sheele. I don't know much about Sheele's personality, nor Tatsumi's." She stood up.

"But if you guys don't do something about the naivety, like running off on your own, we will all end up dead." She said before leaving the room.

"Tsk, insulting Tatsumi I can let pass, but insulting Sheele. I'm pissed." Mein said, glaring at where Chelsea was a few moments ago.

The room was silent. Najenda sighed.

"She was very blunt, maybe too upfront. But anyways, that brings us to why we came here." Everyone's attention was on Najenda.

"Other than to move our hideout location, there is another reason. Now that Jaegars are proving to be a problem, I think it is time to up our training. This area is inhabited by multiple groups of strong danger beasts. For the next month or so, I plan on having us stay here, training and fighting danger beasts. After all, we can't let Tatsumi get too ahead of us now can we?" She said with a slight smile. Everyone smiled back, Leone was grinning.

"Starting today, we are going to train our asses off, you hear me?" Everyone cheered.

"Now before we head off on our own, hunting danger beasts, I want to set something up." Najenda said before bringing out several cages. Inside were small sized bird like danger beasts.

"I brought these little guys from the headquarters. They are danger beasts trained to quickly deliver information. But each bird can only track and find one person, I will set each of you up with one of these so I can deliver information and missions to you guys quickly."

There were 7 cages and 7 birds, they are able to track people by tasting a bit of their blood and then able to find where the owner is. We each fed a few drops to our birds and headed out.

* * *

 _\- Time Skip - That Night -_

I sat with my eyes closed. Listening to the wind whispering to me, teaching me all about it.

I opened my eyes. I was drawn here by the wind, like it was guiding me to the perfect training place. Here, the wind blew 24/7 stronger than anything I have experienced, I can clearly hear the wind speaking to me.

The moon reflected off the water surface. I looked around and watched as small animals sneaked around and between bushed. I can feel the pull, feel myself being attracted towards the large tree on the other side. But at the same time, Shinatsuhiko was whispering to me.

'You are not ready. Patience, you have yet to obtain something that will allow you to wield me at full power.' I closed my eyes again, then they snapped open.

I stood up, turned around.

I walked into the darkness.

There was no point in opening my eyes, there is no difference. Darkness surrounded me, the only thing that guided me was the wind. I found myself at the entrance to what seems like a cave.

"To think something like this lived down here, I guess in the shadow of any paradise, lies a monster." I whispered, I opened my eyes.

In the darkness, an eye opened, glowing the most menacing red. It flared its nostrils and flames spewed. It roared in anger, awoken from its slumber. I smiled, this was indeed the best place to train, I readied myself and dove towards him.

The roar of the dragon was carried away by the wind.

* * *

I woke up with an uneasy feeling. I looked out the window, it was around midnight. I shook my head awake and went to get something to eat.

I sat at the table alone, with a bowl of grilled chicken from last night. I stared at my food, and slowly began eating it. I heard some footsteps and looked up.

"Akame?" Bulat asked, standing at the door way.

"You hungry huh?" I nodded.

"Couldn't sleep." He frowned.

"Akame, what's wrong? You've been a bit far out today." I debated whether or not to tell him. It's better to get it off my chest.

"I… I'm worried about Tatsumi. I know he's strong but I just feel uneasy." Bulat nodded.

"It will be okay Akame, Tatsumi grew up in the wild, also with his ability to detect enemies within a huge range he will stay away from danger I'm sure." I nodded. But this feeling inside my chest, like something was stolen from me.

"Bulat… I feel empty." He looked at me.

"I don't know, I haven't had this feeling since I was separated from Kurome, ever since Yoshiro refused to come with me. What is this feeling? Why am I so scared?" He looked at me seriously, as if he was trying to look into my soul.

"Akame, what do you think of Tatsumi?" I looked at him with my head tilted.

"Sorry, let me rephrase that. Akame, can you describe Tatsumi? What do you think of him?"

"He's powerful, serious and only relaxes around us. He is courageous, sometimes naïve, passionate, cares a lot about other, nice, too nice, and not afraid to speak his mind."

"No, that is obvious, I want you to dig deeper. I want you to tell me, what your heart is telling you." I looked at my bowl, closed my eyes, what does he want? Why is he asking me this? What is my heart telling me?

"I… He…" He looked at me, and shook his head.

"I won't ask for the answer now, you probably don't know it either. But Akame, one day you will understand what I'm trying to say, and then it's up to you to make a decision, follow your heart or not."

He turned around and walked out, but stopped at the door. I stared at my chicken.

"Akame, train hard. Tatsumi is training his butt off out there, and we can't let him get ahead. Don't worry, I guarantee, he will come back." He walked away.

I sat in silence, I felt a bit more reassured, but the feeling is still there. I shook my head, I can't dwell on this, I need to act like always, don't let personal interfere with professional. I scarfed down the chicken and headed back to bed.

He will come back, he will.

* * *

 _-Time Skip – 3 Weeks-_

We stood in the meeting room. Najenda was sitting on her chair and we stood around her.

"Alright, there is something I need to inform you about." She began.

"Recently, a new group of Danger Beasts appeared. They are humanoid beasts that have been going around terrorizing the southern part of the Capitol. They are physically strong and possess some form of intelligence." We nodded, sounds strong and dangerous.

"So right now we have a decision to make, should we participate in the hunting of these beasts?" Lubbock raised his hand.

"Why shouldn't we participate? It is terrorizing innocents and plus, who else is there to deal with them?" Najenda nodded.

"The creatures have been terrorizing the Capitol and its citizens, the Capitol is bound to send forces to eliminate this threat. Especially the Special Task Force."

"Jaegars." Leone whispered. Najenda nodded. There was a moment of silence.

"I propose we stay out of this." Chelsea said.

"What? So we just watch as people die?" Mein questioned.

"It's our best option. If we happen to cross with the Jaegars while on this mission, there's a chance some of us will die. It is too risky, plus the Jeagars are strong, about our strength, they can easily deal with this situation."

"But it's our responsibility to protect innocents, just because there is a risk doesn't mean we should ignore them." Leone said. Chelsea scoffed and shook her head.

"This is what I was talking about few weeks ago, you guys are naïve. Do you really think we can save everyone? What difference do you think will we make by participating? Fighting now can mean we will lose later, more people will die." Mein narrowed her eyes, Bulat frowned and the air was heavy.

"Alright, we will decide later, right now you are dismissed. Take a break today and calm down." Najenda said.

Chelsea left the room immediately and Bulat followed.

"Tsk, she really pisses me off." I shook my head.

"Don't be, I'm sure she has been through a lot, and her words had some sense in them."

"So you are on her side Akame?" I shook my head.

"I'm on no one's side, I'm hungry."

I walked out the room and turned the corner, but stopped, listening in on the conversation.

"-doing this?"

"What do you mean? I'm just pointing out your flaws."

"No, I don't mean that. As an experienced assassin you should know the importance of teamwork and your actions right now are not helping the others like you. I don't want to dig too deep, but why?"

"…"

"…"

"My old team, the one I was on before this one died. All of them, except me. I was on a different job. I don't want that to happen to the people here."

"… I see." He said before walking back. I stood in the hall way as he passed me.

"There you go. Her reason. Reminds you of someone doesn't it, even though the way they address it is different. One in words, the other by actions." I nodded.

He walked away and I looked out the window. Before walking towards the kitchen.

* * *

I walked through the forest, my eyes closed.

"Tsk, these things are everywhere." I said, swinging my sword, which is glowing green and cutting three of the danger beasts down. They were humanoid danger beasts, I probably would have a harder time killing them a few weeks ago, but not now.

I ran forward with the wind boosting my speed, with my eyes closed. I dashed through another hoard and sheathed Shinatsuhiko, leaving behind me a pile of blood and corpses. I clicked my tongue, this guy has been watching me for a while now.

I glared back towards his position, his shadow barely visible to me, and he disappeared.

He's not Yoshiro, that's for sure, Yoshiro would never show himself and he would know hiding from me is useless, who else could it be though. Whatever.

"Time to head back. This should be enough meat for them."

* * *

I narrowed my eyes. The target was lurking down there, and eventually it will come out. I concentrated, I saw a ripple in the water, my eyes widened. Now!

A large fish connected to a fishing line came flying out of the water and towards me.

I jumped from the boat and quick drew my sword, Murasame, and the target fell back into the water, now in two pieces.

"Akame… That's the third time in a row you have sabotaged me! How am I supposed to beat Susanoo now?!" I shrugged.

"It's good reaction exercise." Lubbock sighed.

"Whatever. Now stop it or else we won't have lunch today, we can't eat fish infected by a curse." I shook my head and pointed towards Susanoo's boat. Lubbock's jaw fell into the water, Susanoo's boat was sinking because of how much fish there was.

I smiled and looked towards the sky. It's been a month and a half since Tatsumi left, the Danger Beast issue was dealt with by the Jaegars, we decided to listen the Chelsea and not risk it. But there have been reports of a single man killing multiple beasts and saving a few small villages, immediately I knew it was Tatsumi, he's grown for sure.

But our training session is over, today was the day that our fighting re-begins.

Last night we got informed that the Revolutionary Army is preparing to overthrow the Capitol soon because of a certain religious group, the Path of Peace. They are a religious group that are popular among the citizens, and they are planning to revolt.

The revolutionary army will take this chance to invade, along with the help of the western tribe. These three forces will join and take down the Capitol.

We, The Night Raid, our job is to take the chance when a huge part of the Capitols forces are out on the battlefield to assassinate the minister.

But first, we have an issue. The Jaegars. They are a huge and powerful force that will become a huge issue in the war, and that is why, today we plan on taking a few of them down. They are too much of a threat to ignore.

The plan is simple. We have spies in the Capitol, they will report false intel on our movemnets, and also report that our forces split up. No doubt that the Jaegars will respond, we are their priority.

Even though this is a pretty obvious trap, Boss believes Esdeath will take the bait anyways. They will split forces and we will ambush one of them. Simple but effective plan. But there is a huge risk, if we happen to meet and fight Esdeath, Kurome and Yoshiro in one group, it will be a difficult fight, not to mention Tatsumi has yet to return.

A small, bird like danger beast flew by overhead.

This is a do or die operation.

And we only get one chance, Esdeath will not take the same bait twice.

"Akame! Let's go!" I snapped out of my thoughts, we were on shore and Lubbock and Susanoo were already walking away.

I followed.

* * *

I sat by the lake, meditating.

The past month and half went by quick, before I even realized it. I sensed something coming towards me from above.

It landed beside me and I took off the paper note, attached to its leg. I read it and smiled.

I took out a whistle from my pockets and blew, a few minutes later a messenger hawk flew down and landed on my shoulders. I rolled up the same paper note and attached it to the hawk.

I stood up as the Hawk flew away and brushed off the dirt from my clothes.

Time to head back.

* * *

All of Jaegars had gathered on a dirty crossroad, with two paths heading in opposite directions.

"From the intel, they split into two groups, Najenda leading one, Akame leading the other." Esdeath said.

"This is a little too obvious don't you think? They have been in the shadows for months and suddenly just appear?' Ran questioned. Yoshiro nodded.

"This is obviously a trap. What should we do Lady Esdeath? Do we take the bait?" He said.

"But that's a little risky isn't it?" Wave asked. Esdeath nodded.

"It is risky, they are obviously baiting us. But this is also probably our only opportunity. We will take the bait, and we will kill them." Seryu smiled.

"Yeah! Justice will never lose to evil, we will prevail for sure!"

"Alright, this is how it's going to work. Ran, Seryu and I will pursue Najenda. Bols, Wave, Kurome and Yoshiro, you will pursue Akame."

"Please forgive me, but I disagree." Yoshiro spoke up. Najenda raised an eyebrow.

"Najenda is the leader of Night Raid, milady, you are our leader. There's a higher chance that Najenda is setting a trap for you, and the three of you will have a hard time fighting all of Night Raid. I believe I should go with your group, for safe keeping." Najenda narrowed her eyes. But nodded.

"There is some sense in that. Fine, you will come with us." Yoshiro nodded, but silently smiled inside.

"Alright, today will be the day we wipe out Night Raid. Jaegars! Move out!"

* * *

I hid behind the ledge, Leone was behind me.

"Akame, are you ready for this?" She asked. I nodded.

"Of course."

"Are you sure."

"Why?"

"We are either fighting the capitols strongest, your old teammate, or your sister. Are you sure you're ready?" There was a moment of silence.

"Yeah."

"Remember, we are always here with you." I smiled a bit.

"Yeah." I heard the sound of horses echo through the canyon.

"Here they come."


	15. Chapter 15 - Night Raid vs Jaegars Pt1

The Jaegars headed south, the direction Akame was reported to be headed in. They were riding through the canyon at high speeds.

"Night Raid, the Revolutionary armies strongest." Wave stated.

"Don't worry, by the power of justice we will be able to defeat them." Seryu exclaimed.

"Just don't drag us down Wave." Kurome said. Wave looked at her indignantly.

"Are you saying you don't think I'm strong enough?" She nodded.

"Hey!"

"She's just joking Wave, you're strong enough to take care of yourself." Bols reassured.

"If that's the case he's going to have to prove his strength." Kurome said.

"Just you watch Kurome!"

"Wait. Slow down." Bols said suddenly. They slowed down at a suspicious sight. A wooden dummy in the middle of the road.

"That's really suspicious." Seryu said. Everyone nodded.

"Get off the horses, we need to approach carefully." Bols said. They began walking towards the dummy.

On top of a nearby cliff, overlooking the Jaegars, Mein laid on the floor. She grit her teeth, she had one shot, who should she shoot? The bitch that killed Sheele or Akame's sister? She thought back to the tragic mission, Sheele's last.

"Tch, as much as I want to kill her right now, I can't let Akame fight her sister." She whispered to herself. She took aim, held her breathe and concentrated.

One shot, one target, one chance. She pulled the trigger and a thin wave of energy shot through the air, reaching Kurome in an instant. She smirked, I got her.

Kurome saw something flash from the side of her eye, and she jumped back, avoiding the energy bullet by an inch. Mein's eyes widened.

"You are kidding me, that reaction time is not human." Her eyes widened, then she closed them.

I failed.

The Jaegars were on guard, this was a trap after all. Suddenly, the dummy exploded and Susanoo came dashing out, straight towards Kurome. Kurome was about to get hit when Wave jumped in front of her.

"Kurome! Watch out!" He yelled as he blocked Susanoo with Grand Chariots sword form, he was sent flying, literally. He flew out of sight.

"Wave!" Bols yelled, Akame and Seryu raised their guard.

"He was useless after all." Kurome said.

"So we were unable to kill one of you with that shot, but at least we got rid of one of you. That's not a bad start." Najenda said. Behind her stood Bulat, Leone and Akame.

"Bols, Kurome and Seryu. You three are among our targets. Prepare yourselves." She stated.

"Tsk, we were baited huh? The other side was a decoy, all of Night Raid is here." Seryu said.

"Yeah, we have no choice but to fight now." Bols said.

"Tsk, like hell I'm going to die here, I will eradicate the evil!" Seryu said, her face now much more sinister.

Akame and Kurome were having a stare off. Kurome smiled happily.

"Sis! I'm so glad you're here." She kept smiling as she pulled out her sword.

"Now I'm going to kill you, and you will become part of Yatsufusa." She giggled. She raised her sword and black lighting flew from the tip of her sword onto the ground. The ground cracked and shadows crawled out.

She was surrounded by 8 shadows, one much larger than the rest. The shadows became clearer, and reveled 6 humans and a huge dragon, plus a shadow that bounced into the forest. Bulat immediately equipped Incursio and Leone transformed.

Najenda narrowed her eyes. March of the dead – Yatsufusa, capable of bringing back anything it killed under the user's control. I didn't think it would be this strong.

"Now, let the killing begin." Kurome said as she, the blonde haired teenager and Seryu were raised onto a nearby cliff by the dragon. Akame narrowed her eyes.

"Controlling 8 puppets must have a toll on her body, I need to take advantage of that." She whispered to herself before she dashed forward, but couldn't get far before she was held back by Bulat.

"Akame! Keep your cool! Don't rush in on your own or you might be in danger." Akame looked back, before breathing in and out.

"Sorry, she got to my head."

"Look out, here it comes!" Leone warned, they turned to look at the huge creature. The dragon opened its mouth and energy began gathering.

"Hide!" Najenda ordered. The energy blasted from the dragon's mouth, the whole canyon was reshaped.

"Hahaha! Sis! Let me introduce my new pet! Ultra-class danger beast, Desta-Ghoul!" Kurome giggled. Mein was nearby, she laid in a bush and was looking at the scene in shock.

'This is the power of a creature that was used to create teigu's huh? It's ridiculous.' She aimed at Kurome, I won't let a failure remain a failure. She thought, but Kurome's guard, a teenager with blonde hair, looked back at her.

Meins eyes widened in shock.

"Crap!" She whispered before she had to roll out of the way from his spear that extended and almost pierced her.

"That girl... Kurome, she is mine." Seryu said. "Coro! Come with me, let's go get you a snack." Coro and Seryu began rushing towards Mein across the line.

Meins bangs covered her eyes.

"Tch, you came to me before I could get to you… You will pay for what you did to Sheele." She stated.

* * *

Meanwhile, Night Raid had recovered from the energy blast.

"That power is pretty insane." Leone stated.

"Alright, everyone group, we need to take it down."

"No. I can take it myself." Susanoo said. Najenda stared at him.

"But…" He looked back, determined. Najenda smiled.

"Alright, everyone get ready, the battle is about to begin." Everyone met face to face with an opponent.

Leone was facing a redhead and a cowgirl, Akame stared down Bols and his reanimated bodyguard, Bulat was faced by 2 opponents, an ape like danger beast and a ghost looking guy. The blonde stood beside Kurome. The last one disappeared into the forest, hidden in the shadows

* * *

 **Leone's POV**

I watched as this guy took out his whip and the girl grab her guns. I grinned, perfect, two of them at once. I immediately sidestepped a bullet and ducked the whip. The whip hit the canyon wall and a huge dent was created. I narrowed my eyes, that isn't a normal whip.

"Is it a teigu? No, a teigu doesn't work if the user is dead. It is a well-made weapon. But a weapon is meaningless if you can't hit me!" She said before dashing towards the man, she ducked and dodged the bullets.

The cowgirl began running towards her, Leone frowned.

"You want to beat me at close range? Don't underestimate me!" She said as she threw a punch at her with enough force to rip her head off her shoulders, but it was dodged.

The cowgirl jumped over Leones punch and used her shoulder as a platform before flipping in midair. Leone looked back at her and had to jump to the right to closely dodge multiple bullets. But she was snagged by the man's whip.

"Shit!" She said before she was brought up into the air and swung around. The cow girl landed and fired a bullet at Leone, aimed to kill her. Leone gritted her teeth as she moved her head, the bullet going right though her long hair. She was then smashed into a nearby bolder.

She clicked her tongue annoyed, and a bit salty. The stood up and glared at them.

"Now you've done it you two, I'll show you what happens when you provoke a lion."

* * *

 **Akame's POV**

I stood there, looking at my opponent. Bols of Jaegars, according to Tatsumi his teigu is fire based, I have to be careful. I walked around my opponent in circles.

"Before we begin. Akame, why did you betray the Capitol." I stared at him. The scenes of my past flashing through my mind. The man slaughter, the pain, the training, the sense of fear, the sense of disgust. I then thought about Najenda, how she freed me.

"Because it was what my heart told me to do." He looked at me.

"If that's the case, there is no convincing you, I will be forced to kill you." I stood still.

"Eliminate." I ran at Bols, he brought up his teigu and bright red flames spewed out. I slid under the flame and swiped at his legs, it was just about to hit when I got kicked to the right. I flipped and slid to a stop, looking back up.

The bodyguard. I completely forgot about him, this will be more difficult. I ran at Bols again, intending to do the same thing. This time, as I reached him, I stopped and jumped to my right, sliding under the body guard's defense and just managed to slit him in a leg.

I looked back and had to immediately block a kick with my sword, skidding backwards. My eyes widened, he was still alive. My eyes narrowed, Murasame doesn't work on re-animated people. His defense is good, I can't get past his shield, and I can't kill him. I looked back at my opponents.

"Magma Drive!" Bols yelled before a ball of lava flew at me at high speeds, my eyes widened that thing has a ranged attack too? I jumped into midair, and my eyes narrowed, this was not good.

He threw another ball of lava at me, this time sure to hit. I swung my sword and cut the ball in half, but braced myself. I flinched in pain and I opened my eyes.

I dropped to the ground and moved my arm a bit. Ok, I can still move it pretty well. My instincts kicked in and I side stepped another ball. This isn't time for thinking. I need to deal with these two. I dropped into my stance and readied myself.

This is going to be a difficult battle.

* * *

 **Bulat's POV**

I readied myself. An ape like danger beast I have never seen before, and someone I assume is from a tribe. The ape charged at a moderate speed, but my eyes widened at the speed and power of its punched. I blocked them all, but I felt each impact. I jumped back and prepared myself as the other guy flew at me.

I summoned my lance and stabbed at him, but his body twisted and bent beyond what is normal and I leaned back to barely avoid a knife to the face as he flew over me. He landed on the other side of me and stood back up. I breathed in and out, calming myself. I can fight this, but it might take a while.

I ran at the ape and punched it, and it managed to block, but it skidded backwards from the force. I took advantage of this opening and chucked my spear through its stomach. I leaped over its falling body, using it as a stepping stone and landed right by my spear and picked it up. I looked back and clicked my tongue.

"So I can't kill this thing." I said. The ghost like guy flew at me at high speeds again, I charged at him at extremely high speed, reaching him before he could react and I punched him in the face, he flew backwards and landed on his back. I smirked before my eyes widened. I immediately turned to my right and brought up my spear and closely blocked a swing.

"Hundred man slayer Bulat. You're strong." Kurome said. I threw a punch at her but she just jumped away. Her body guard picked her up and jumped back onto the cliff. She giggled.

"You better not let your guard down, cause I will kill you."

I was about to chase when I remembered who my real opponents are, but it was a bit late. I felt impact on the side of my shoulder and I flew to the side, Incursio was dented by the impact. I grit my teeth. She distracted me and bought enough time for them to recover. They were dead, but not stupid, the same tricks won't work again.

I narrowed my eyes and brought up my spear. How to deal with them…

* * *

Susanoo brought up his weapon and used it to stop the dragon's claw from crushing him. He jumped back and over a swipe. His eyes were narrowed in concentration, he jumped away from an energy blast but it took his arm off. He ignored it and ran up the dragons arm, his arm regenerating and he climbed all the way up to its shoulder before breaking off a piece of its bone. He landed on the ground and looked back up.

He nodded at his handy work.

"Good, now it's symmetrical." He ducked under another energy wave and ran at the dragon, slamming it with his weapon as hard as he could in the leg, the dragon fell down to one knee before Susanoo jumped onto its face. He slammed it in the head and it fell onto its back.

As Susanoo landed on the ground and turned around, his eyes widened before he was swatted into the canyon wall. His eyes narrowed.

"Susanoo! Are you okay?!" Najenda yelled from the sidelines. He nodded.

"I let my guard down, he is tougher than I thought." Najenda nodded.

"Susanoo, we can't drag this fight on too long. We need to destroy this dragon before it causes the Canyon walls to collapse." Susanoo nodded.

"Alright then, Susanoo, trump card activate." Susanoo's core began to glow golden, and Najenda gritted her teeth. Susanoo's hair turned white, his clothes became ripped and a circle appeared behind him.

"Time to end this."

* * *

 **Meins POV**

I ran away immediately as I watched them come closer. Even though I'm pissed, there is no way I will be able to beat her close range. I ran towards the place I left my case. I know this place better than she does, she probably will be cautious and won't chase me.

I reached the tree that I had marked with a bullet hole and grabbed the chest. I opened it and inside were multiple attachments and parts. I smirked, these parts were created to give Pumpkin more diversity and not just for sniping. I grabbed one of the attachments that allowed Pumpkin to be used at close range and attached it.

I then strapped on the sniper attachment to my back.

I stood up and closed my eyes.

'Sheele, this is for you…' I opened my eyes and ran back. I walked into a clearing and fired a few bullets towards the sky and waited. She came walking to the clearing, with Coro in monstrosity form already.

"Oh? It seems you have a death wish. Alright then, Coro, I wonder how this little girl will taste compared to her friend?" She said with an evil smirk. I glared at her.

"For someone who keeps ranting on and on about justice, you have a disgusting mindset." She narrowed her eyes and growled, along with Coro.

"Today I will bring justice to you and your partners in crime." I glared back.

"In this world, power is justice, winners are right. Enough talk, I will show you who is right and who is just." She glared at me.

"Coro! Devour!" She yelled, Coro roared and charged at me. I smirked. I brought up pumpkin and started rapid firing. Coro stopped in its stop and brought up his arms in attempt to stop the bullets. Seryu's eyes widened.

"What's with this energy!?" She yelled. I smirked.

"The bigger pinch I am in, the more powerful Pumpkin is. This i situation, with one of you being nearly indestructible, not to mention the last time you beat us i situation. This is what I call a pinch. You will pay for what you did."

I kept on firing, arming for Coro's left shoulder where its core is. Seryu clicked her tongue before bringing up her guns and started firing at me. I ran to the left, the movement throwing off my aim a bit. I clicked my tongue before jumping into the trees. I need to buy some time or Pumpkin will overheat, I did do some maintenance just before this battle but limits are limits.

I ducked under a branch and jumped into a trench. I stayed down and closed my eyes, in a forest, it's easier to listen than to try and see. I calmed myself and focused on the sound. The wind blew and tree's rustled, then I heard a branch break. I opened my eyes to shock, behind me!

I turned around and shot at the thing that was reaching towards me. I got a good look, a frog. My eyes narrowed, this wasn't here last time. I remembered there only being 8 shadows brought back by Kurome, but we've only seen seven. This was the last one huh? I immediately jumped to my right at the sound of a gunshot.

Seryu and Coro walked into view, surrounding me.

I grit my teeth, 3 v 1. This sure is a pinch.

* * *

Tatsumi ran towards the location of the ambush. He was fast, but there's no doubt that he would be late. He narrowed his eyes, he can't risk going any faster or else he would be exhausted by the time he gets there.

"Guys stay safe." He whispered.

"Akame, don't die."


	16. Chapter 16 - Night Raid vs Jaegars Pt2

**Najenda's POV**

I fell onto one knee, sweat dripping from my forehead. I swallowed and stood back up. I looked at Susanoo's Trump Card – Magatama Manifestation. He was clad in armor and there was a huge circle behind him, his clothes were ripped and so were his pants. His black hair turned white and his white horns turned black.

"Alright, end this, Susanoo."

Susanoo nodded and disappeared. He reappeared behind the dragon, he brought up his hands and a huge sword appeared.

"Ame no Murakumo!" He yelled as he swung the sword. The dragon turned around and shot a huge laser, but Susanoo sliced right through it. His sword approached the dragons head when he was kicked down to the ground.

I looked at the perpetrator and Kurome stood with a smile on a nearby cliff. Her guard landed back beside her. My eyes narrowed.

"I can't let you kill my pet just yet. Not until one of you dies." She said before walking out of sight. I looked back at the fight, the dragon brought its foot down and a huge cloud of dust was drawn up.

"Susanoo!" I yelled in worry. But then I heard a voice.

"Yasakani no Magatama!" The dust suddenly cleared and Susanoo was carrying the weight of the dragon on his back. He yelled in defiance before he threw the dragon onto its back and then disappearing again. He appeared above the dragons yet again.

"Let's try this again." He said when yet again, the blonde bodyguard appeared above him, this time ready to slice him in half, Susanoo spun around and grabbed the blonde by the leg before chucking him back at Kurome.

Kurome jumped away from her bodyguard, who somehow landed on his feet. She narrowed her eyes.

"This strength, I guess it isn't a trump card for nothing." She said before she walked away.

The dragon had opened it mouth and fired at Susanoo as started falling. He brought up his hands and the circle from behind him appeared in front.

"Yata no Kagami!" The circle, a mirror, absorbed the attacks and sent it back with twice the power, sending Susanoo flying even higher. The lasers hit the dragon dead on and it cracked in multiple places, bones chipping off and breaking.

Susanoo dropped from the sky, with Ame no Murakumo in his hand. He brought the sword down on the dragon and it was sliced cleanly in half.

The 2 halves turned into dust and was blown away by the wind.

He landed on his feet and jumped back to my side. I smiled as Susanoo's went back to normal.

"Good job Susanoo." He nodded. I looked at him seriously.

"You never told me the consequences of your trump card." He shook his head.

"I don't suffer any consequences, it's only you. Three times is the limit, after the third you will die." I nodded knowingly, his trump card fed off the life force of the user.

"If that's the case, then we can go help the others. If they haven't finished up already." He nodded. With that, we headed towards the sounds of clashing.

* * *

 **Leone's POV**

I grit my teeth, dodging another onslaught of whips and bullets, getting another set of cuts. Their attacks are too fast and too consistent for me to go on the offensive. The chances I do get, they are too maneuverable for me to do much without being punished for it.

I saw an opening and ran at the old man, he dodged my punch before kicking at me, I grabbed his kicked and threw him at the cowgirl. She jumped over the flying man, using him as a stepping stone and jumping right above me. I growled and jumped at her when I realized my mistake.

Crap! I got baited. I clenched my jaw as I felt bullet penetrate my arm and my eyes widened in anger before I reached her and hammered her down to the ground with both hands. I landed on the ground and shouted angrily, holding my arm. I examined it, it will heal, but it hurt.

I was seeing red. I growled loudly and was about to run at them again when a voice stopped me.

"Leone, calm down. Don't make the same mistake twice." I looked to my side and found boss.

"Boss! Did you finish dealing with that dragon thingy?" She nodded.

"Susanoo dealt with it, and he is currently headed to help Akame. I am here to help you." I took a step back. When was the last time boss fought?

"Umm, alright. Boss, who do you want to take? An annoying cowgirl or an annoying old man?" She looked at the old man. Her eyes widened.

"General Rokugoh?" I looked at her.

"You know the old man?" She nodded.

"He was my general back when I was part of the Empire. He was a very kind man and a great general. Not to mention strong." I nodded.

"Alright, I'll take the old man and y-"

"No. I will take him on." I looked at her.

"Are you sure?" She nodded.

"He was against the Capitol. I need to repay all he has done for me by putting him to rest and stopping him from being forced to fight for the ones he hated." I sighed.

"Alright." With that said I ran at them. They had managed to recover in the time we were talking, but I was upon them in moments and I kicked the cowgirl away before following, the old man was about to follow up, but was stopped by boss.

The cowgirl landed on her feet and was skidding backwards. She brought up her guns and began shooting. I dodged and ducked the bullets and punched her, but she blocked with her arms but the force was enough to send her flying into the canyon wall.

I felt the earth shake and looked behind me. My eyes widened in shock when I saw boss kick the old man's head off. I sweat dropped. Yeah, and I was wondering if our boss could fight, I kind of forgot she was a general too.

I remembered who I was facing and I moved my head, avoiding a bullet. She's still not down? She brought up her gun and I decided I've had enough. I dodged the bullets and I walked up to her and was about to smash her head into the wall when I felt a searing pain in my arm.

"AHH!" I yelled in pain and I dropped down to my knees. I looked behind me, my blood boiling in anger.

Kurome stood with her smile.

"You let your guard down too much, good bye, Leone. Doya, finish her." The cowgirl, Doya pointed her guns at me. I yelled in defiance and stood up, punching her in the guts and throwing her into Kurome, but the pain caused me to miss. I held my arm and I yelled in exertion as I forcefully closed the wound, stopping the blood.

Kurome looked at me, narrowing her eyes.

"I'm surprised you still managed to move, let alone throw Doya at me and close your own wound, but it doesn't matter." She walked up to me but she immediately was forced out of the way. She looked back in annoyance.

"Doya! Let's go!" She said before they jumped back up the cliff and ran away.

"Leone! Are you alright?!" Boss came running. I nodded.

"Yeah, she caught me off guard. If it wasn't for you I'd be dead."

"No problem. Everyone else should be almost done. Grab your arm, we are getting out of he-" She was interrupted by a huge explosion in the direction of Akame's fight.

We were knocked to the ground by the shockwave

* * *

 **Bulat's POV**

I blocked the onslaught of punches from the ape with my spear and I retaliated by punching it in the gut, but it managed to block and slid back instead. I then had to move my head out of the way, avoiding a stab to the back of my head and swung my spear but the ghost guy flipped and flew away.

I can beat them one on one easily, but these two combined makes them tricky to deal against. One can dodge all my attacks, the other one can take all my attacks. Taking one down temporarily wouldn't mean anything because I will be occupied with the other long enough for it to get back up.

I blocked another punch and jumped back. What can I do? I lost my only opportunity last time because of Kurome. I ran forward, sweeping the apes feet from under it, causing it to fall. I was about to punch it when I jumped away from a dagger. I chucked the spear at the ape and pierced it through the stomach.

I jumped back and the ape had already pulled the spear out and ignored the gaping hole in its stomach. My eyes narrowed. Hard to deal with, already dead, doesn't feel pain, already dead, pretty strong, already dead… Already dead?

I wanted to slap myself. The fact they don't feel pain means they don't feel presences either, all they are depending on right now is there five senses. I smiled before jumping straight upwards and as I hit the ground, a crater was created and the dust flew into the air.

I immediately activated my invisibility and began moving around. They can't sense me, they don't have the senses to sense my presence. I moved behind the ghost guy, who just standing there, waiting for me to come out. I grabbed my spear from the ground and chucked it at the ghost guy.

He was sent to the ground, pinned to the earth before I came out of the invisibility and drop kicked his head, crushing it. I pulled out the spear and sliced of its arms. I smiled. One down.

They may be undying, but they don't regenerate so taking its head and arms might as well be killing it. I turned to the ape. Without its partner, this guys is nothing.

"Return to the place you belong." I said before I ran at it. I punched at it, which it blocked but it didn't stop me from sweeping its legs, grabbing its arm, throwing him up into the air before throwing the spear through its neck then hammering into the ground before following up with a drop kick, crushing its head.

I smiled. Mission accomplished. I unequipped Incursio to avoid spending unnecessary energy and began walking away, towards the direction of the other fights when the earth shook and dropped onto one knee. Covering my eyes with my arm from the dust that was kicked up by a shockwave.

"What's going on?"

* * *

 **Mein's POV**

I clenched my jaw. I'm surrounded.

"Looks like today is the day you die." She said laughing.

"HA! Isn't it funny how evil always dies the same way? Last time Coro had quite the good meal. It's your turn now." I grit my teeth in anger.

"I will avenge Sheele, I will kill you if that's the last thing I do!" I yelled before I shot at Seryu, she walked behind Coro who blocked all the attacks. I felt something wrap around me and I was brought up into the air.

"Heh, from what Kurome said. That frogs stomach acid is enough to melt through anything. Now go to hell." She said.

I closed my eyes. Sheele, I'm sorry.

I felt myself falling, and I hit the ground.

"Don't die on me Mein." I heard a voice. I opened my eyes and Lubbock on a branch.

"Lubbock!" He nodded.

"I'll deal with the frog. You avenge Sheele." I nodded. And I stood up. Seryu narrowed her eyes.

"Another one? Coro, its dinner time." She said with a dark grin. My eyes widened.

"Lubbock, be careful, here comes its trump ca-"

"Coro! BERSERK!" Coro roared as its fur turned red, its eyes turned red and it grew in size. I fell on one knee to stop myself from being blown away by its roar.

I smirked.

"3 v 2, monstrous trump card, neither of our teigu were made for close combat fighting, this is what I call a pinch." I felt power radiating from Pumpkin.

I started rapid firing yet again, this time, the bullets were stronger. Much stronger. Seryu's eyes widened then narrowed.

"Is there no limit to that Teigus power?!" She said. I smirked.

"No, there is not." She turned to Coro.

"Coro! Number 5!" Coro turned to her, still taking my bullets before biting her arm. My eyes widened when her arm transformed into a huge drill. I grit my teeth and concentrated, I'm almost at its core.

Seryu seemed to realize that because the drill lit up and flew at me like a rocket. My eyes widened as I dove to the right, closely avoiding being blown to pieces. The rocket hit the frog that Lubbock was dealing with and it died instantly. Lubbock fell from his tree and landed on his knees.

"What is with that weapon?!" Lubbock yelled. I shook my head, last time her weapons weren't this strong. Did she get more body modifications? I then realized I forgot something.

"Shit!" I yelled when I realized Coro had already finished regenerating. Seryu began chuckling.

"This is the end. Coro! Kill them both!" Coro roared and began running at us when the whole forest began shaking.

We all fell to the ground.

"What's going on?!" Lubbock yelled. I looked in the direction where the others were fighting.

Through the leaves of the forest. Smoke filled the sky.

* * *

 **Akame's POV**

I stood still, trying to look for any openings. I knew this bodyguard, he was one of the best and well known body guards in the entire empire. He disappeared a few months ago, and was assumed to be killed. But I never thought that Kurome would have him as a puppet.

My eyes narrowed. He wasn't a famous guard for no reason, he has little to no openings, and the opening he shows are either covered up too quickly or an obvious bait. I decided sitting still will solve nothing, but running in is stupid. I began running around them at high speeds.

The speed makes it more difficult to identify openings but… If I wait patiently… I stopped and let the fireball pass me… the opening will come to me. I dashed at the body guard, getting past him by sliding under his legs and swung my sword at Bols. He brought up his hands and I felt my sword hit something hard.

I narrowed my eyes and ducked under a stream of fire before back flipping over the body guard, using his head as a stepping stone and landed on my feet a few yards away.

He is ready for me, even the usually exposed skin is covered by metal. He was ready to fight me before this battle began.

Susanoo suddenly landed beside me. I didn't even look at him.

"Su-san, did you finish dealing with that dragon?" He nodded.

"Yeah, I was ordered to come assist you. I'll deal with the guard, you kill Bols as soon as possible." I nodded at the plan.

Susanoo ran at the guard, Bols fired lava balls but Susanoo smacked them away. I was right behind him and as the guard came to stop us Susanoo skid to a stop an swung his hammer at his and smacked the guard into a nearby boulder, before jumping at him and drop kicking him, but the guard managed to recover and rolled out the way.

I dashed straight towards Bols and swung at him, he jumped back and spew flame at me which I immediately rolled under and towards him, swiping his legs from under him and he fell onto his side I swung down onto him but he blocked with a hidden metal piece placed on his palm before I jumped back to avoid being lit on fire. But it caught a bit of my dress.

I immediately sliced that part off my clothes when I realized something about that teigu.

"That teigu, the fire doesn't extinguish does it." He looked at me.

"You noticed, yes. The flames of my teigu, Purgatories Invitation – Rubicante, doesn't extinguish even if the target jumps into water. The only way to stop the flames is to either kill me, break my teigu or if I will it to stop." I narrowed my eyes. I can't afford to get hit by that.

I noticed something from the side of my vision and ran right at Bols. He brought up his flamethrower.

"I will end this now. Trump card - Inferno Drive." He said. The fire suddenly became a lot more widespread and I found myself facing a wall of fire that nearly covered the width and height of the canyon, filling it up and leaving me nowhere hide.

It was unavoidable, my eyes widened. I heard about this.

A few years ago, there was a report that said a village overrun by bandits was burned to the ground in an instant. No survivors and a spectator described it as an 'impenetrable wall from hell'. The death toll was 300 people. 250 which were innocents.

I skid to a stop and ran backwards. I ran as fast as I could but I couldn't outrun the raging inferno. I clicked my tongue and looked around but I missed a small detail, and it was a fatal mistake. I fell.

The fire rolled over me and I felt the heat radiating from above, it burned. I felt my back being roasted and I clenched my jaw in pain. The pain was nothing like any other burns I ever felt, this felt like I was being sent to hell. But it ended almost as quickly as it began.

I laid there, the pain subsiding but I can still feel my blood pulsing. I pushed myself back onto my feet and looked back. I managed to distract Bols enough for Susanoo to destroy his Teigu. The fire disappeared and I found myself with mostly first degree burns on my arm and second degree at worst on my back.

The fire didn't last long enough to burn me too badly, thank god Susanoo was here. I began walking back with great difficulty. Susanoo had Bols cornered and he most likely had a broken rib or two.

"Give up, your teigu is no longer usable." I said. His eyes narrowed, I could sense it even through his mask. He took off the cylinder from his back and carried it on his back. My eyes widened.

"Su-san! Run!" I yelled in realization when he threw the cylinder up into the air and brought out a button. I watched as the cylinder exploded and felt myself being carried away by the shockwave.

I blacked out.

* * *

 **Mein's POV**

"What happened?!" I yelled. I looked back at Seryu, her eyes were wide. She clenched her teeth.

"That explosion… That was Bols suicide move. He was defeated?..." She was in shock. I took this chance and signaled Lubbock. I could sense the anger building inside her, she's going to go ham after this.

We slowly sneaked away and ran. Her voice echoed in the forest.

"HOW DARE YOU! I WILL KILL YOU ALL! I WILL BRING ALL OF YOU EVILS TO JUSTICE! CORO! KILL THEM ALL!" We ran. I turned to Lubbock.

"Lubbock! Get out of here and warn the others! I will fight her!" He looked at me like I was crazy.

"What!? Are you crazy?! The Mein I know will never do that!" He yelled back. I looked at him.

"You moron! Pumpkin is stronger if I fight them on my own, plus one of us needs to go get reinforcements! I will occupy her while you go get everyone else." He looked unsure.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything stupid! There's no time! GO!" I yelled. He still looked unsure but nodded.

"Don't die." He said before he jumped back onto the tree with his strings.

I took off the machine gun attachment to Pumpkin and re-equipped the original. I fired a laser into the air and ran. I ran out of the forest and found myself trapped, it was a dead end with nowhere left to run. I clenched my fists, I'm done running, and this is where I will make my last stand.

I climbed on to a large boulder near the canyon wall and laid on my stomach.

"I'm a master sniper, not a soldier. I have one shot, one chance. This is where I will kill her." I whispered to myself.

I closed my eyes.

I breathed in… and out.

The world around me slowed down, I opened my eyes.

I looked into the trees on the other side, taking in every detail. I heard a rustle and held my breath.

They walked out of the tree line and into view. I took aim at Seryu.

I could hear my heart beat, it was increasing. I narrowed my eyes and pulled the trigger.

The world slowed to a halt. I watched as the beam closed in on her, I watched as the laser approached her, standing still with her bangs covering her eyes. I looked at her face.

She smirked.

My eyes widened when she tilted her head and the bullet missed.

"I knew you were there the whole time. No one escapes the Justice City Detector. Now die." She said.

"Coro! Devour!" Coro came at me at high speeds. The world was still slow for me, I watched as he came at me in slow motion.

Is this where I die? Will I never be able to avenge Sheele?

Memories flashed through my mind. Growing up as a half foreign child, being ridiculed and bullied. Watching the weak being devoured by the strong. Does that mean I'm weaker than this bitch? Will I be devoured?

"Heh." I chucked. I raised my head with my eyes narrowed.

"LIKE HELL I WILL DIE HERE! PUMPKIN!" I yelled in anger. I pointed Pumpkin upwards and a huge laser fired into the sky. It suddenly split into dozens of smaller lasers and rained down on us, kicking up dust and blowing Coro off balance.

I jumped off the boulder and I brought Pumpkin to my side, I held down the trigger and swung it, the laser sliced through both Coro and Seryu as I heard them yell in pain and anger.

It was chaos.

Dust kicked up and nothing could be seen. I fell on my one knee, Pumpkin had overheated. I panted trying to calm myself down. The dust cleared soon. I looked around as the dust cleared. I saw Coro who had returned to its small form, as well as Seryu from her waist up, laying on the ground motionless.

I sighed in relief.

"Goodbye."

I felt a searing pain in my chest. I fell to the ground, my body no longer listening to me. As I fell I managed to catch a glimpse of her. Her eyes crazed with her mouth open and a gun inside it.

"Mission Accomplished" I glared at her.

"This gun wound is not enough to kill me." I said. She looked at me crazily.

"Heh, I know. You see… Bols and I are pretty similar, in terms of how we deal with death." I realized.

"Judgement of the ten heavenly kings – Number ten. You're coming with me, see you in hell…" I closed my eyes.

"I avenged you Sheele. Rest in peace."

The world went black.


	17. Chapter 17 - Return of Tatsumi

I felt the wind blow past me and I forced my eyes open.

"Are you okay?" I shook my head and my vision cleared.

"Bulat?" He nodded and we landed. I looked behind us and there was a huge mushroom cloud, reaching to the heavens.

We were running through the forest, they somehow made it.

"Mein?" I snapped back to reality.

"Lubbock made it." He nodded.

"Yeah, he came running to us and told us you were fighting Seryu alone, I was sent to help you." I raised my eyebrows.

"Where is everyone else?"

"Leone lost her arm and Akame is out cold. Najenda, Lubbock and Susanoo are escorting them back to the meeting point." I nodded. Then it hit me.

"What about Chelsea." There was a moment of silence.

"Lubbock said she left the area he had set up, apparently chasing Kurome after finishing off Bols. Susanoo and I are supposed to go after her for support after bringing everyone else to safety." I closed my eyes.

"We still have time, Chelsea may be a horrible human she isn't stupid enough to fight Kurome without an obvious advantage." I say that but I feel an awful feeling in my chest, an uneasy feeling. Maybe it's just because of the hole in my chest.

"Let's hurry." He nodded.

* * *

 **~ Chelsea's POV ~**

I walked in the direction that Kurome was going, according to Lubbock. I had killed Bols by transforming into a little girl and assassinating him. Now, I'm ready to do the same.

I walked up behind her and she spun around.

"Kurome! I'm so glad you are ok!" I said. She relaxed a bit.

"Bols! You survived your explosion?"

"Yeah, I was trained to be heat resistant while in the incineration squad. But I'm afraid Seryu isn't as fortunate." She nodded sadly.

"I will make them pay. But not today, we have to keep moving or else they might come for us. You lost your teigu and I'm too exhausted to summon more zombies, we will die if they catch us." I nodded and frowned.

She may be exhausted, but I have to wait for the perfect opportunity or else I will die. We began walking in silence.

We walked a long way, back towards the capitol. I still couldn't find any openings. She managed to dodge Meins bullet, so attacking out of nowhere is too dangerous. I narrowed my eyes, at this rate I will have to retreat.

Just as I thought that she collapsed on the ground. My eyes widened, this chance is too perfect.

"Kurome? Are you okay? Are you in pain?" I said, kneeling beside her and rubbing her back in comfort.

"Y-yeah… The drugs are wearing off, I'll be fine as long as I eat my sna-" She couldn't finish as I stabbed her in the back of the neck with a needle. It was a fatal spot, she will die for sure.

"Then let me release you from your suffering." I whispered in her ears, undoing my transformation.

"You…" She said as she collapsed. I stood up.

"Goodbye. Both targets assassinated, mission complete, time to head home." I said before I began walking away.

I sighed and relaxed, that was intense. Why did I agree to such a risky plan?

I stopped when I sensed something behind me. I turned around and saw something that would haunt me for years to come.

Kurome, on one knee. She took a bite out of her snacks and giggles. I looked at her in horror, she moved as if she was possessed. A very ominous aura was surrounding her.

"Heh, as if someone like you can relieve anyone from their suffering. Guess what? After sis left the empire, a new drug was developed. One that could strengthen one's body to the point they can only be killed by stopping my heart or decapitating me… Now, you will pay." She said as she glared at me and pulled out her sword.

I grit my teeth and threw down a smoke bomb. I ran.

I didn't know such a drug existed. But she should be too tired to chase me. I just need to transform and I am out of here. I thought to myself. I was pulled out my teigu and was about to transform when I felt a searing pain course from my hands and my teigu shattered. My eyes widened as I looked back.

A cowgirl stood there with her gun up. I thought she was too tired to summon any corpses. I held my bleeding hand and kept running. Kurome's angry order echoed to my ears.

"KILL HER!" She summoned them out of pure anger. I ran out of the forest and into a field of beautiful flowers. I skid to a stop when the blonde body guard landed in front of me and swung at me.

I felt an indescribable pain as the blade pasted through my arm like a hot knife through butter.

I as I felt my body jerked forward as a bullet passed through my chest. The world went silent.

The world slowed down as I fell down onto my back.

Is this where I die? Why did it have to end like this?

Memories flashed through my mind. Being a servant of a corrupt merchant. Finding Gaea Foundation in his storage room. Killing him. The drive that drove me to where I am today.

Ridding the world of trash.

I am facing the consequences for the hundreds of deaths by my hand. I sighed silently in my heart.

This is where I die.

I closed my eyes and a tear rolling down my face.

I don't want to die…

Someone, anyone, help me.

* * *

 **~ Lubbock's POV ~**

I stood sat beside Leone, having just sown her arm back on and she is currently resting. Akame was asleep and Najenda was by the window smoking. I sighed, so much has happened today.

I had to set up a barrier, save Mein, run for reinforcements, told Chelsea the direction Kurome was heading on the way. Now Chelsea is on a solo mission to kill the one that almost killed a lot of us today.

The door slammed open and Bulat came running in. I sighed in relief when I saw Mein was okay. Najenda nodded in approval.

"Good job Bulat." Bulat looked at me.

"Lubbock! Mein has a whole in her chest and she is turning pale!" I put on my serious face. I took a look and I nodded.

"Thank goodness the bullet caliber wasn't large. It was designed to immobilize the target, not kill. I can fix this." I was what you call the Doctor of Night Raid. Cross Tail is capable of being used to close wounds and sew flesh together.

I placed Mein on the bed and knocked her out cold. I was ready to begin when Bulat said he was heading out again.

"Boss, I'm going to go assist Chelsea." She nodded.

"Susanoo! Go with him." She commanded.

"No. Sus-san should stay here. You never know what is going to happen and we need someone to defend this place." Najenda narrowed her eyes but nodded.

"That's true, but are you sure?" Bulat nodded.

"No time to lose. I will be back." He said before he ran out.

"Are you sure that was the right decision?" I asked. She nodded.

"Don't worry, he isn't alone." I raised my eyebrows, but she looked back and gave me a confident smile.

I began working on Mein reassured now.

Whoever is on her mind, she has a lot of confidence in.

I wonder who it is.

* * *

 **~ Chelsea's POV ~**

I waited for the inevitable. But it never came.

I opened my eyes, prepared to see the sky for the last time. But I was met with a face.

"You okay?" He said. I looked at him, my vision blurry.

"Who are you?" I whispered.

"Heh, I know we didn't get to really interact, but I'm pretty sure leaving Night Raid for a month made me pretty memorable." My eyes widened.

"Tatsumi?" My vision cleared and he smiled.

"At your service, don't worry. I will deal with these two quickly. You will live, I will make sure of it." I felt my consciousness leaving me.

"They….don't die…" That was all I can say before the world went black. But in the darkness, I heard a voice.

"Leave it to me…"

* * *

I frowned. She lost an arm and has a hole in her chest. She has about 10 minutes before she bleeds out. It is approximately 8 minutes from here to the meeting point. I stood up and looked to my left and right, both of them were getting back up after I blew them away.

2 minute. I have 120 seconds to take care of them.

I smirked.

More than enough time.

I turned to the blonde and watched as he ran at me. I brought up my sword and blocked his slash and I moved my head to avoid a bullet. He tried to knee me in the gut but I just jumped over him. I turned around and watched as a bullet approached me.

My sword glowed green and threw a wind blade at her, the blade split the bullet in half and she dived to the right to avoid it. The blonde appeared above me and brought down his spear. My sword glowed again and I brought it up to block.

His spear went right through my sword, breaking in half. As he fell I stayed right there in midair and kicked him in the face, sending him to the ground, creating a huge crater.

The moment I hit the ground I dashed at the cowgirl. She brought up her guns and rapid fired, but they all missed their target. I appeared before her and in a blink of an eye, I was behind her, landing on my feet.

I swung my sword and blood flew off my blade.

"One down." Behind me, her head and all four limbs fell to the ground. I disappeared again, this time appearing before the blonde as he was getting back on his feet.

"Two down." I said before my blade glowed green and I cut through his armor like it wasn't there, his limbs and head separated from his body. I smirked.

One minute. That was all it took.

I walked back to Chelsea and ripped off a piece of her skirt and tied up her arm. It won't stop the bleeding but it will give me a few more minutes.

I sensed Kurome nearby, but I don't have time to fight her, I'm running on a time limit here.

I lifted her up bridal style.

I breathed in and out.

And I blasted off.

I closed my eyes as the world around me blurred. I ran through the forest, avoiding trees and branches. After a few minutes of running I skid to a stop. Someone was there. The wind blew and I smiled.

"Bro!" I yelled. He slowed down when he saw me.

"Tatsumi?" I nodded.

"No time to explain. I've got a few minutes before Chelsea bleeds out." He nodded and I ran past him.

Behind me, his eyes widened when he realized I was about twice his speed. He smiled.

"You've grown, Tatsumi…"

* * *

 **~ Akame's POV ~**

I woke up in a bed. I pushed myself up and held my head trying to remember what happened.

"You're awake?" I looked up. Boss sat by the window with a cigar in her hand.

"Boss, where are we?" I asked.

"We are back at the base. Don't you remember what happened?" I thought back hard. The memories came back to me, the fights, the pain, the explosion.

"How long was I out?" She looked out the window.

"A few hours. We had to carry you back here." I looked down.

"Sorry." She shook her head.

"Not your fault, you somehow managed to survive Bols trump card with very slight wounds. They will heal, but the ones on your back will scar." I nodded, that is a small price to pay.

"Did anything hap-" I stopped when a beautiful aroma filled the air. My mouth began to water.

"Do you want to know what happened?"

"Never mind that, it can wait, I smell meat." She laughed and stood up.

"Alright, I think dinner is ready, can you stand." I got off the bed and stood.

"Yeah, nothing wrong with my physical condition." She nodded and with that, we walked out the room and downstairs.

We walked into the dining room and they were all there. Bulat, Leone, Lubbock, Mein, Susanoo.

"You're up!" Leone said, jumping up and hugging me. I smiled and nodded. They all smiled. I sat down in my seat and waited. I looked around and there was no food, but I smell the aroma of delicious meat. No one got up either. I tiled my head and they saw right through me.

"Don't worry about it Akame, someone decided to come back and he is on cooking duty." My eyes widened immediately.

"He's back? Tats-"

"Yo." I turned towards the entrance to the kitchen.

There he was, standing there with a small smile. I blushed a bit.

"Tatsumi…" I said. He smiled. Mein sighed.

"Tatsumi, if your trying to look cool a cooking apron is not the outfit you want to be in." He raised an eyebrow.

"Who said I was trying to look cool." Leone laughed.

"Tatsumi! Let's be honest, we all know you were trying to make an impression on someone." He smiled.

"No comment. Anyways, who wants food?"

The rest of dinner was great, we celebrated a successful mission and the return of Tatsumi. There was a laughing, eating, teasing, joking and meat, lots and lots of meat.

But more importantly, it felt like a family. I felt so warm, I felt so at home.

I wanted this feel to last forever.

* * *

Dinner ended with everyone either drunk or stuffed. All except Tatsumi and Akame. They went outside and sat by the campfire.

There was a moment of silence.

"Somehow you guys managed to rebuild this place perfectly. After my rampage." Tatsumi said.

Akame nodded.

"Su-san is really amazing isn't he? Tonight's recipes were all his." Tatsumi said.

Akame nodded.

"…"

"…"

"I know what you want to hear." Tatsumi said.

"…"

"…"

"Why did you leave?" There was another pause. Tatsumi stared at the campfire and closed his eyes.

"I wasn't strong enough." Akame looked at him.

"Then we would have helped you tra-"

"That's not what I meant." Tatsumi looked at her.

"I knew I was strong enough physically. My rampage proved that I had the power. But it also proved that I was weak mentally. I couldn't control myself, I couldn't control my power. I lost control over the power and look what happened. I trashed my home, I hurt my friends."

"…"

"I knew that my sword was sentient, and it was trying to show me my weakness. I knew I had to leave and live in the wild. It was the only way. I am too relaxed here, too safe. My mind will never strengthen unless I go through difficulties and obstacles."

"…"

"All of that. That was why I left."

"But…"

"I know. Those are just excuses I made to myself. They were excuses that I thought up to cover my fear. I'm afraid that will happen again and this time, I might not just be limited to basic abilities. If I pull my trump card on you guys I won't be able to bear with the guilt. I'm sorry Akame."

Akame smiled. That was exactly what she wanted to hear.

"I'm just glad your back. I'm just glad you're safe." Tatsumi looked away.

"I was back too late." Akame looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Chelsea…" Akame's eyes widened.

"Did she-"

"No." They turned around and Najenda was standing there.

"Akame, Chelsea isn't dead." They watched as she sat down in front of us.

"Then what happened?" Akame asked.

"Let's start from after you fainted. After the explosion caused by Bols's teigu, we all met up. Leone and you were heavily wounded, Susanoo was tired and so was I. We met up and discussed what we were going to do. We decided you and Leone would be sent back to the meeting point. That is when Lubbock came."

Akame listened intently, silently berating herself. Najenda saw that.

"It's not your fault Akame, don't berate yourself for it. Lubbock came and told us Mein was fighting Seryu by herself, and that Chelsea had left to chase down Kurome. I sent Bulat to go help Mein, and decided to go help Chelsea after everyone was safe. We thought she would be safe and only attack when there is a clear opportunity. We saved Mein with little to no trouble. But..."

"I'll take it from here." Tatsumi said. He looked at Akame and she looked back. He looked down to the ground.

"I received a message from Boss this morning with one of the messenger birds." Akame's eyes widened. She remembered that a month ago, there were 6 birds, but 5 of us. She looked at Najenda.

"You were in contact with him the whole time." Najenda nodded.

"Before you get angry at me, he asked for me to keep quiet." Akame looked back at Tatsumi.

"I went to see Najenda first as you know, I agreed to keep in contact but I had 2 requests. One, only to call me when there is a very dangerous mission, two to keep the fact she was in contact with me a secret. I couldn't keep in contact with you guys all the time, or else the prospect of leaving is too lonely and painful, I would be tempted to go back." Akame nodded, but still didn't approve.

"Anyways. I was running towards the fight when I saw a huge explosion in the distance, then a laser rain, then another explosion. I knew the fight was nearing the end when I sensed someone nearby. I found Chelsea, on the verge death. I dealt with the enemies quickly, brought her back and she lived. But…"

"She lost her right arm, lost 4 fingers on the other hand, her teigu was destroyed and her lungs were punctured." Najenda cut in. Akame's eyes widened.

"We managed to save her, but she will forever have difficulty breathing. She will have to get a prosthetic arm and will never be able to use her left hand ever again. She will never live the same way, much less fight. We have requested that she be sent back to the headquarters so she could get a prosthetic arm and so she is safe."

Tatsumi was looking at the ground. Akame's eyes widened. Najenda took a puff of smoke, Najenda stood up.

"Susanoo and I will be escorting her back to the headquarters tomorrow morning. This is where we say goodbye." She said before walking back inside.

Tatsumi and Akame sat in silence.

The silence went on and on and on.

No one said a thing.

They just sat and stared at the blazing fire.

Until they both fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

 **Hey guys and girls, BzS here.**

 **Sorry for the slow update, but seeing all the comments asking for the next chapter just wanted to make me not release the next chapter for a while.**

 **I'm a horrible and lazy person, I regret nothing.**

 **Anyways.**

 **We Out - BzS**


	18. Chapter 18 - Undiscovered Feelings

I woke up really early in the morning. The sun wasn't up yet and the camp fire had extinguished. I was still sitting on the log, it became a habit of mine when I would meditate and accidentally fall asleep sitting upright.

I felt a weight on my shoulders and looked. Akame was asleep with her head on my shoulder. Last night we sat in silence until she fell asleep and I followed shortly after.

I couldn't help but stare at her. Reminded of a month ago. The look on her face, that look of peace, I would give up the world to keep that.

I smiled and brushed a strand of hair from her face. I leaned into her ear.

"I'm home, Akame…" I whispered before I shook her awake.

"Akame." She slowly opened her eyes.

"Morning Akame." I said. She rubbed her eyes a bit before looking at me.

"Tatsumi…" She said. I smiled.

"The sun hasn't come up yet, I thought you might want to see the sunrise with me." I said. She nodded.

"Alright, let's go." She said before we stood up. I scooped her in my arms bridal style. She blushed a bit.

"Tatsumi, what are you-" She couldn't finish before I flew up and landed on the roof. I put her down and sat down beside her.

We sat in silence, waiting for the sun to come up. I closed my eyes and felt the wind blowing on my face. It was comforting, encouraging, it gave me power.

"I was so scared." I said. She turned to look at me. I opened my eyes and stared off.

"I wanted, I desired, I craved power. If I had more power an old friend of mine wouldn't have died. If I had more power maybe Sayo and Ieyasu wouldn't have died. If I had more power, I wouldn't have to experience this scarring pain." I turned to look at her, she looked back.

"I was scared that if I didn't get power fast, other members would die, my friends, my family, you… I couldn't let that happen. Night Raid is my home. And then that was when the wind called out to me. Ever since I got this teigu, it has never been wrong. I trust this sword with my life. So when it told me leaving was the only way, I left."

"Do you regret it?" I shook my head immediately.

"This month I learned more about my power, more about myself than ever before. I learned so many things that I don't think I remember all of it, but I know my sword will never let me forget. Among the many things I learned. The most important is what I learned about my heart." Akame's eyes widened.

Unbeknownst to me, a voice echoed in her head.

 _'I want you to tell me, what your heart is telling you…'_

"But..." I continued.

"The past month has been one of the hardest of my life. I told Najenda not to contact me because I was afraid I would be tempted to go back, but every day I wondered how you guys were doing. My body left but my soul didn't. Akame." I stared into her eyes, she stared into mine.

"I'm back, and I promise I will never leave again." With that I turned back to the sky, so did she. The sun slowly crawling higher into the sky. I smiled.

"I'm home, Akame."

"Welcome back, Tatsumi."

* * *

We stood in front of the big, flying danger beast. It was the one that brought us here a month ago. In front of the beast was Najenda, Susanoo, and Chelsea.

She had woken up last night apparently. Lubbock had sewn all her wounds close and she would live, but the consequences are there. The boss had already told Chelsea what would happen and her injuries. I was shocked to hear that she expected as much.

I looked sadly as everyone said goodbye. The atmosphere was heavy and the mood was somber. Finally, it came to me.

I walked up to her looking concerned and guilty. She glanced at me and closed her eyes.

"Stop it Tatsumi." I looked at her.

"What?" She shook her head.

"Stop feeling responsible. We are assassins, we are supposed to prepare ourselves for this and much worse."

"But-"

"No buts. You saved my life, what do you think is worth more, my life or my arm." I opened my mouth and closed it, staring at the ground. She sighed.

"… I was meant to die that day." I looked up.

"I was meant to pay for all the death I caused, the people I killed. It was retribution, and you saved me from it. I'm thankful Tatsumi. I still had a lot of things to do, I don't want to die a virgin." She joked, trying to lighten up the mood.

"What do you plan on doing now? You've been an assassin for so long." She looked far off.

"I had always wanted to be a writer. The books I read, how they captured my attention. And now, I feel like I have had experiences of all kinds, ideas are flooding my mind. Need I say more?" I shook my head.

"Good luck, I'm sorry." I said. She smiled and leaned in and kissed me on the check. My eyes widened.

"Don't be sorry. Thank you, Tatsumi, for saving me." She said before she turned around and got onto the back of the danger beast. Najenda looked at me and then everyone else.

"We will be back in a few days. I don't think we will try to see if we can recruit any members, but I doubt it since the war is nearing. Train and tell Tatsumi the plans. Stay safe, Bulat, you are the leader while I'm gone. Keep everyone safe." Bulat nodded. We all bowed as she and Susanoo headed onto the beast and they flew off into the distance.

We turned around and headed in.

The whole time, I felt a set of eyes staring at me.

* * *

 _\- Time Skip – Later –_

I stood in the backyard of the base with my sword in hand. A few hours ago the boss, Susanoo and Chelsea left. We just laid around for a few hours trying to process what just happened the past 2 days when Bulat suggested that I show how much I have grown.

But I stand here, in the training ground that is surrounded by tree's, asking myself a really good question.

"Why." My opponents looked at me.

"Why what?" I sweat dropped.

"Why am I fighting 2 of you…" I said. Leone grinned and Akame just looked at me. Bulat smiled. He was on the sideline along with Lubbock and Mein.

"Before your training trip Akame can just barely beat you, so we got to take it to the next level. No complaints."

"But the chances of you beating them are slim to none." Mein said.

I sighed. Leone winked at me.

"Come on Tatsumi! If you win I will give you a special present! Really special ~." She said. I smiled, that sounds like Leone.

I looked at them, even though Leone was joking I could tell they are dead serious. I narrowed my eyes, this is not going to be an easy battle, and they are coming with full force. I breathed in and then out.

I smirked.

"I've been waiting for a good fight for a while now. Bring it!" I said with a confident smiled. I didn't spend the last month and a half fighting **him** for nothing.

I dropped into my battle stance, which is basically bent knees and my hand on Shinatsuhiko, which is strapped on my back. Akame's hand went to Murasame and Leone equipped Lionelle. We waited for the signal. Lubbock looked left and right.

"Everything's allowed except trumps. No lethal blows or anything that can lead to permanent damage. First side to yield or rendered unable to battle loses. Now, enough talk. Fight!" He said.

Immediately my sword glowed green and I drew it, sending a thin air slash at them. Leone jumped to the right and Akame ducked and then charged at me. I charged forward and we crossed swords. We began trading attacks, blocking and sending out flurries of slashes. Our swords moved so fast the only things visible were sparks and shadows.

We stopped for a second, locking swords before I loosened my grip. Her eyes widened in surprise as she lost balance for a second, allowing me the knee her in the stomach. Just as I was about the swing my sword at her neck I was forced to stop midway, blocking a knee that would have knocked me unconscious.

I slid to the side and balanced myself. I looked up and my eyes widened and I leaned back to barely avoid Murasame. I jumped backwards.

"Akame! That would have killed me!" She just looked at me. Leone stood beside her.

"Enough talk. I'm bored of just watching. This time it won't be one at a time Tatsumi. Prepare yourself." I grit my teeth.

I can't use lethal force, or break their weapons like I usually do. This is difficult, my only choice is to knock them out. But…

I didn't have time to think as I parried a downward slash from Akame, Leone appeared behind me with a roundhouse kick that I ducked. I then had to roll out the way of a side slash. But the moment I recovered they came at me again.

Their onslaught was almost impossible to defend against. When you cover one angle, the other appears somewhere else. I somehow managed to dodge everything up till this point. I crossed sword with Akame again and Leone swept my legs from under me.

I fell on my back and brought my sword to my chest, just stopping Murasame from killing me. I pushed her off for a second but Leone grabbed me by the leg and I was thrown into the air. I stopped in midair to catch my breath.

Their teamwork is flawless and they don't need words to communicate. They know each other's style of fighting, thought processes, maybe even fighting habits. Not to mention I'm basically forced to give them a handicap. My sword is meant to be used to kill, a wind slash can cut anyone in half. But I…

I grit my teeth. I will slowly tire out and I will lose. I grit my teeth. How am I supposed to protect the ones I can't beat? My eyes widened as I was hammered to the floor. I yelled in pain as I hit the ground.

"Tatsumi! You're losing focus! Don't tell me you wasted the last month and a half doing nothing!" Bulat yelled.

I pushed myself up and blocked Akame's sword but Leone appeared and kicked me in the ribs. I felt the pain course through my body as I flew, but I managed to force myself to land on my feet. But Akame appeared again and I blocked her onslaught with great difficulty. She kicked me away.

I fell to my knees, breathing heavily. I looked at them, they didn't even break a sweat.

"Tatsumi." I looked at Akame.

"You're really trying to kill me…" I said. She just stared at me.

"Do you really think you can beat us without really trying?" I stood back up.

"I am trying!" She just stared at me.

"If this is you trying then you don't belong here. You are weaker than before." I grit my teeth. I fell angry, I feel pissed.

"If you think you defeat us without coming with the intent to kill then you're are sorely mistaken." I glared back.

"But I don't want to kill you!" I yelled. Leone spoke up.

"Don't underestimate us." She said before she came at me. My eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"You want me to try? I'll try. I'll try alright." I said. I felt this force inside me, a storm raging on and on with no end in sight.

As she approached me, she jumped up and landed behind me. Akame appeared before me and they came at me from both sides. I stabbed my sword into the ground and a tornado appeared around me. Akame immediately jumped away but Leone's leg was caught for a second. She winced as she jumped back, she fell on one knee, her leg bleeding with a ton of small cuts.

I immediately in front of her with my sword glowing green. I swung my sword sideways, about to cut her when Akame appeared in front. She brought up her sword and instead of blocking or parrying like normal, she did something different. My sword slid by hers, redirected and the energy released, sending a wind blade to the side, cutting 3 tree's in half.

My eyes widened but I brought up my arm to block Leone's punch. I slid back and then used to force to jump out the way. I looked back.

"How?" I asked. Akame just looked back.

"There are more ways to block than by force." She said. Leone stood back up, I looked closely and her leg had already healed. I stood there in shock.

"Tatsumi!" I looked at Bulat.

"Don't underestimate us! You weren't the only who worked hard the past month!" My eyes widened.

I forgot.

I'm not the only one who cares, who is strong. I grit my teeth. I was so naïve to think I was so strong that if I used my powers they would be in danger. They aren't normal opponents. They are Akame and Leone.

I closed my eyes. The wind blew past me and slowly the storm within cleared up. I smiled.

"Only anger would allow me to realize my mistake. Ironic huh?" I whispered to myself. Leone appeared before me. I fell backwards and dodged her punch before she was blasted back to Akame. I laid on the ground and opened my eyes.

"The sky is beautiful today." I slowly got back up.

"Alright, enough is enough. I will show you what I've learned over the past month. No more holding back." I said.

"Finally." Leone said. I smiled.

"Guys, don't get hurt too badly please." I said. Before green wind swirled around me. This tornado is different. It was bigger, much bigger. This was an actual tornado. The wind expanded covering the whole field, trapping everyone inside.

Leone and Akame stood back to back.

"Akame, this is just a smoke screen." Leone said. Akame nodded. I smirked.

"You're right Leone. I am unable to create this big of a slicing whirlwind without cutting myself to pieces too. Now let's test your battle senses shall we?" I said before I appeared above them, sending a wind blade between them and they jumped opposite ways.

Leone's eyes widened.

"Shit! Akame!" She yelled. I appeared in front of her, swinging at her. She ducked under the swing before I disappeared again.

"In this smokescreen you can't see either!" She yelled. I smiled.

"You forgot, the wind is my eyes. I can see perfectly in here, even better than normal." I said before I sent a wind blade at her. Her ears twitched and she side stepped before dashing at me. I blocked a punch, sliding back.

"Boosted senses, almost forgot about that. Let's end this." Her eyes narrowed.

"Don't underestimate me." She yelled. I smiled.

"I won't make the same mistake twice." I whispered. The wind started spinning faster and the sound increased. I boosted my speed and started running around Leone, riding the wind. It was draining but this would work. I watched as she stood still trying to find where I was.

I sent 2 wind blades at her, she dodged the first right into the other. Her arm was cut and began bleeding. I kept running, repeating the same thing. Her left arm was cut, her left leg, the side of her stomach. I saw her eyes narrow a bit more and I knew it was time. I sent 2 more wind blades, but also ran at her.

She side stepped the first and ducked under the other but I appeared behind her.

"One down." I said before knocking her out. The wind died down and I fell to my knees. It was tiring. But I pushed myself back up.

Standing face to face with Akame. Who hasn't moved ever since the separation.

We stared at each other for a while before we crossed swords. The swords clashed again and again, but it was clear who had an upper hand. I only just managed to match the two of them. I slowly gained the upper hand, but Akame didn't make it easy.

She was agile, quick on her feet and her technique is amazing. But the concentration needed to perform her perfect parries is slowly wearing her out. I saw an opening and I seized it.

I swung down hard and she managed to parry but lost balance and slowly fell backwards. I brought up my sword but I realized my mistake. She swung her body as she fell.

I panicked and leaned back. Her sword made contact, creating the smallest of scratches.

My eyes widened. I brought my sword down and held it at her neck as she hit the ground.

"Two down." I whispered. The world started to darken as the colors faded. I closed my eyes and fell, hitting the cold, hard ground.

* * *

I floated around in the darkness. Drifting in nothingness.

I was conscious and unconscious at the same time. I darkness felt warm but cold. I couldn't tell whether my eyes are open or not. I couldn't feel anything but the blackness.

Indescribable. That was the only word I could use to describe it.

In the darkness, a single glowing light appeared. It just came to existence, one second it wasn't there, the next it was.

The light glowed green and I felt myself being drawn to it.

A voice whispered to me in the darkness. The words disappeared into the void and I could only catch a few words.

'You… almost ready…Last test…'

Last test…

The words I heard slowly faded from my mind.

Last test…

I know it was important, yet I can't seem to remember.

Last test…

What did it try to tell me?

Last…

What did I hear?

Test…

What did it say?

…

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes but shut them immediately.

The light pierced through the darkness and my eyes burned.

I pushed myself up with on hand, the other trying to block the light as I slowly opened my eyes.

My eyes slowly adjusted and I looked around. It was my room.

Usually I would wonder something along the lines of 'why does hell look like my bedroom'. But I knew I wasn't dead.

I looked to my right and by the bed was Akame. She had fallen asleep beside my bed.

I smiled. The day Akame kills a member of Night Raid is a day that will never come. I crawled out of the bed, making sure I didn't wake her up. I picked her up and set her down on the bed before walking out the door.

Something is echoing in my mind.

But I don't know what.

For the second time in my life.

I have forgotten something.

* * *

 **~ Akame's POV ~**

I slowly opened my eyes. I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I got out of bed and looked outside. Its evening and the sun had almost set. What happened today? I asked myself as I walked out the door.

I looked down the hall. Somethings not right. This isn't my room. It's Tatsumi's.

My eyes widened. Tatsumi. That's right, today Leone and I fought him and lost but he fell asleep from my blade. I quickly walked downstairs and entered the dining room and found Bulat and Mein talking. I looked around.

"Where's Lubbock, Leone and Tatsumi?" I said. They looked at me.

"Akame! You're awake?" Mein said. I nodded. Bulat grinned at me.

"Leone is resting, Lubbock is checking on his barrier, Tatsumi… You need to find out yourself." I tilted my head. What's going on?

I looked around the base, nowhere to be found. I looked on the roof, by the campfire, in the training ground. Nowhere.

I walked through the forest. Where could he be? Must be somewhere I know, and not just anyplace. I walked through the forest, the wind blowing. I suddenly felt tired again, not a lot happened today but it felt much more than what it was.

Forest, wind, sleep. My eyes widened and I turned around, running towards the place.

The place he left us. The place he left me.

I slowed down as I neared the tree. I found him sitting by the trunk of the tree.

"Tatsumi." I said. He turned and looked at me and smiled.

"You found this place." He said. I nodded. He patted the ground beside him and he slid over.

There was a moment of silence.

"Akame. What happened to Murasame?" I shook my head.

"Nothing, the weapon I used today wasn't Murasame. It is too dangerous to use in a friendly duel. I coated a blade with a sleeping poison and painted it like Murasame." He nodded.

"I didn't notice until I realized that you wouldn't kill a member of Night Raid."

There was another moment of silence.

"What will it take for you to forgive me?" I didn't respond.

"Don't even try, I know you haven't forgiven me." He said. I didn't respond.

I didn't respond because I don't know.

I don't know why I haven't forgiven him. I don't know why I can't forgive him until he does something. And I don't know what that something is.

For the past month, Bulat's words has been on my mind none stop, the voice is so loud some nights I couldn't sleep.

 _'What is your heart telling you…'_

I don't know. I can hear it, but I can't understand it. What is it trying to tell me?

"I…" I started but I couldn't end. The silence continued as he waited for me to answer, but it never came.

I looked to my side after a while and found him asleep. I guess the poison is still working.

My eye lids felt heavy.

I closed my eyes and drifted off. The words at the tip of my tongue.

'I want you to stay with me. Forever.'


	19. Chapter 19 - The Capitol Archive Chamber

**Tatsumi's POV**

The next few days was fun. I sparred with Akame, Leone, Bulat and trained with them. They told me what happened over the month and tried to get me to tell the same, but I just shook my head.

"Sorry, but the one I trained with told me not to tell anyone." That made them even more curious.

Really curious. To the point Leone tried to make me drunk, tried to seduce me and all her hooker tricks but none of them worked. Lubbock tried to bribe me, Bulat tried to bro talk it out of me. They somehow managed to teach Akame how to do the infamous begging dog eyes technique and used it on me.

Now that was hard to resist. I almost gave in until Leone started to laugh. That got me out of that pinch. But now they have doomed me for life, Akame took the technique used it for evil.

She did it to me whenever I cooked, which is always.

I almost broke a promise that I swore on my life because of that, now I am forced to make meat, meat and more meat. Every day, every meal, every time. Which is what I am doing right now.

"I hate you guys." I said. I am standing by the window with a fan in my hands. I glared out the window.

"Hehe, sorry." Leone replied. I sighed.

"Akame, can you please spare me for one day? Too much meat isn't go-."

"I don't care." I leaned out the window and began crying. I've been training with something that breathes fire and I feel like this is more painful. I am having a great sense of déjà vu right now. For some reasons I feel like the month and a half really didn't change anything. I suffer before, I suffer after.

"Su-san. Come back soon please, I can't handle this…"

"Tatsumi! The meat is going to get burning! If that happened you'll have to deal with an angry Akame!" I immediately appeared in front of the stove. That's the last thing I need in my life right now.

"Seconds." I looked at the table and sweat dropped. There's at least 2 dozen plates there. Then an idea popped into my head. I walked over and handed her the plate of meat stacked so high I don't know how I managed to bring it to table.

"Alright Akame. I have good and bad news."

"Hm?" She said without looking up.

"We've run out of meat." She looked up, finished with the food.

"How is that good news?" I shrugged. On the inside I laughed.

That's good news for me.

"Without more meat I can't cook more."

"Don't worry, Lubbock should be back with more about….now." Lubbock slammed open the door.

"Akame, your order of meat is here." I looked behind Lubbock and almost fainted.

A whole mountain of dead danger beasts.

"Oh hell no." I said.

I ran into the kitchen and jumped out the window. I am NOT dealing with that today, or tomorrow, or anytime soon, or ever. Behind me, everyone laughed. Akame smiled.

And I cried.

* * *

The torture finally ended when Su-san and Boss came back. I truly think Boss is a goddess, she saved me last time too.

"Welcome back Lady Najenda!" Lubbock said when Najenda and Su-san stepped off the flying fish thing.

"It's good to be back." She replied. I stepped forward.

"How'd it go?" She smiled.

"Don't worry. We settled Chelsea down and granted her servants to help her. With the recovery of Doctor Stylish's Teigu, one of the doctors was able to wield it and gave Chelsea an extremely effective prosthetic arm and a new hand too. She will never be able to run for long periods of time because of her lungs but she might be able to live a relatively normal life." I nodded. That's good, thank god.

"So? Bulat, how did testing Tatsumi go?" Bulat smiled.

"He managed to tie against Leone and Akame, together." Najenda's eyes widened for a moment.

"Looks like the month and a half paid off. Mind telling me what you did?" I frowned and shook my head.

"Forgive me, but I swore on my life and my sword that I will not tell anyone, unless I am given permission." She nodded in understanding.

"But I do have some things I can tell as well as some very valuable Intel and information." I added. Everyone raised their eyebrows.

"Alright, I will have to hear that later. I have news, very bad news." Everyone looked at her seriously. She opened her mouth, but then closed it and smiled.

"Before that, how about we go have dinner?" The mood lightened up a bit.

"Alright, Tatsumi, you are-"

"No. Su-san is a better cook." I said. Leone burst out laughing and so did everyone else, I smiled.

The family is back together.

* * *

Dinner was great, especially for me because I didn't have to cook.

After dinner everyone went outside and sat by the campfire. Najenda told us about how everything is going, how everything is going in the revolutionary armies favor.

I decided it was time to tell them what I know.

"Boss, I have intel on the Capitols Defenses, troop numbers, strengths, weaknesses, patrol routes, and anything else you would ever want to know of the enemy." I blurted out after she finished.

Time stood still for a moment as everyone's eyes widened.

"…Explain." Najenda said in a serious, borderline threatening tone. I nodded seriously.

"It happened a month ago."

* * *

 _ **Flashback – 1 Month Ago**_

 _I stood by the crack in the wall._

 _Just a while ago, this was the place he gave me an invitation._

 _Answers._

 _There were so many questions in my head._

 _I wanted answers._

 _Even though I was hesitant I still blew the whistle._

 _I honestly had no reason to trust him, and this may very well be a trap._

 _But I decided to trust him regardless._

 _I 'saw' him approaching. No one else nearby, he came alone._

" _I must say, I'm honestly surprised you decided to call for me." I heard a voice say as he blurred into existence right in front of me._

 _I nodded in agreement._

" _I'm surprised as well, this may be a one way ticket to my death. If I find out this is a trap I will be taking you and all of your allies with me to hell." He laughed._

 _I was not an evil laugh, nor a nervous laugh. It was an honest laugh of enjoyment and joy._

" _You are the best. I'm glad I met you." I shrugged._

" _Are you going to lead the way or not?" He smirked._

" _Of course." He started walking._

" _Set sail! Destination…"_

 _The Capitol Archive Chamber._

* * *

I stopped as I felt killing intent from every angle.

It was not a pleasant feeling having all of Night Raid glaring at you.

"ARE YOU RETARDED?!" I heard Lubbock yell at me.

"That has got to be the most moronic decision in the history of humanity." Mein commented.

"Tatsumi, I don't know what to say to you." Bulat glared at me.

"What can you say to him?" The boss added.

"Tatsumi…" Leone growled.

Akame stayed silent.

"Calm down guys, I'm still alive aren't I?"

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT YOU IDIOT!" They yelled in unison.

I stayed silent for a while.

"Why?" I heard Akame whisper.

"Why would you trust an enemy?"

I looked up at the sky.

"I didn't trust him." I answered. She looked up at me questioning.

"I trusted the my gut feeling telling me to go."

* * *

 _I flew us over the wall surrounding the Palace garden._

 _We began walking under the bright moonlight, leisurely strolling through the garden._

 _There were guards patrolling the garden but we paid them no mind as we walked past them._

 _They didn't react whatsoever._

" _Your teigu is useful."_

" _IS THAT IT?!" He spun around and yelled in my face._

 _I laughed._

 _He laughed._

 _For the first time, I laughed with someone who I didn't consider as family._

 _We continued to laugh as we headed towards the Archive Chamber._

* * *

 _After a series of hallways that look exactly the same, we arrived in front of the Archive chamber._

" _The door should be unlocked. At 2:00 in the morning, the Prime Minister and the Commander of the army enters the Archive Chamber in order to update the defenses of the Capitol as well as record any new Intel regarding the enemy. It serves as the strategy base for the Capitol."_

" _The minister and commander of the army will both be here?" My eyes widen at the perfect chance to finish off the leaders of the Capitol and it's army._

" _Don't even think about it." I glared at Yoshiro, on guard. He sighed._

" _Let me ask you, if you kill the Prime minister right now, what do you think will happen?" I raise an eyebrow._

" _The capitol will be completely open and defenseless, the Revolutionary Army will just swoop in and take over." He laughed, a bitter laugh._

" _If that's the case then the Minister would be long dead. I could've killed him any day, anytime, anywhere for the past 10 years."_

" _Am I wrong?"_

" _Yeah, you're very wrong." He shook his head._

" _You are strong, but you are a bit naïve when it comes to something on a national level." He turned to me and started explaining._

" _The reason the revolutionary army is fighting upfront and not just sending in an assassin and then taking over is that an empire cannot be suppressed so easily."_

" _Currently, even if the Capitol is a horrible place, it is still organized and peaceful when looking at the empire itself. But if the Prime Minister suddenly dies, the young king will lose it's guide and the Empire will fall into chaos within days."_

" _People will rebel, the soldiers will panic, and the capitol will fall. If the commander of the army dies too, then the army will also fall into chaos." My eyes widened in revelation._

 _Even if that weakens the empire. Suppressing the panic, the soldiers, and the army will be near impossible. It will be possible only through force._

 _And using force to suppress the people is no different than what is happened now._

 _The Minister and the leader of the Army opened the door to the Archive as we stood by invisible._

 _I grit my teeth and clench my fists in restraint._

 _I wanted to smash the Prime ministers face, I wanted to cut him into a million pieces, I wanted make him pay for everything he's done, every sin he's committed, every scar he caused._

 _But I couldn't._

 _Not yet._

 _Soon._

* * *

There was a moment of silence. Everyone had their fists clenched.

I knew that they all wanted to berate me for letting the Prime minster live.

But they couldn't.

Because they knew that if the Minister died before the army was ready.

Nothing would change.

In fact, everything that they have done.

Everyone that has died.

It would all be wasted.

I took a deep breathe before continuing.

* * *

 _It took what felt like an eternity before they left the chamber._

 _After hearing the door locking Yoshiro dispelled our invisibility._

 _I turned to him._

" _I hate you."_

" _Me too." He said with a smirk and I could only sigh._

" _So? Where should we start?"_

" _I would suggest you memorize the Intel on the capitol's defense and army, then start answering your own questions."_

" _Sounds like a plan."_

 _I went around and all the documents the Minister and Commander had just put back and started looking through them. Storying every detail into my memory._

" _You are going through them pretty fast, you might want to slow down, if you memorize the wrong information by accident it might cost you the war." He said before plopping down a bunch of documents and books beside me._

" _It's fine, I have a perfect memory. I see them inside my mind. But copying down these documents later will be a pain." He laughed before going off to find more._

 _I spent half an hour memorizing all the documents before putting them back to where we found them._

* * *

I finished explaining how I managed to get the Intel.

They looked at me suspiciously.

"Yoshiro helped you sneak in, get the Intel and sneak out?" Lubbock asked suspiciously.

I nodded.

"He can be trusted."

"How do we know whether the Intel is false? This could be a trap. If Yoshiro and the Prime Minister cooperated to bait you into giving us false Intel then the war will be lost." I shook my head.

"Don't worry, over the past month after I got the Intel, I went and checked all the patrol routes to confirm if the Intel was correct, and it was."

They were hesitant, but accepted it. Najenda smiled.

"Good job Tatsumi, with the Intel our plans to attack the Capitol can become much smoother, easy, and with less damage. This is invaluable, the revolutionary army will definitely reward you." I shrugged.

"I don't really care about the reward, all I want is to end the citizens sufferings as quickly as possible." I said.

"Aww, isn't that noble, let Onee-chan reward you with a hug." I heard before I was suffocated in Leone's chest.

It quickly stopped after sensing killing intent from Akame, I don't know why.

After some quick praise Bulat turned to the boss.

"Boss, what's the bad news you mentioned?" The boss took a smoked and looked up at the sky.

"I will tell you guys tomorrow morning, it won't make a difference." She said before walking away, she stopped after a few steps.

"Tatsumi, copy the documents from your memory onto paper and place it in front of my room, tomorrow I will have to go back to the headquarters with them and cross check with our own Intel." She said before walking away.

I already had all the documents copied, and they were stored in the wind.

It was an ability I discovered recently, since I can make Shinatsuhiko appear anywhere I wanted I tried it with other objects and discovered I could disperse them into the wind and reform them.

I stood up and stretched.

"I'm heading back to my room, I'm tired." I said before walking off.

"Good night!" I heard everyone say and waved my hand in the arm without turning around.

I dropped off the documents in front of Najenda's room before heading to mind and plopping down on the bed.

My mind wandered to what happened afterwards.

* * *

I want answers.

Teigu's.

Weapons capable of making it's wielder into a one man army.

There really is too little information, it's been a millennia since their creation, and I honestly don't trust any information regarding them that is currently known.

This archive room, I suspect has been here since the beginning of the empire.

There must be information on these mysterious weapons.

I walked around the archive chamber.

The layout is similar to that of a library. There are rows upon rows of nothing but books, documents and papers.

It was huge.

From history of the empire, information on previous rulers, army Intel, strategy's recorded by previous commanders, war hero's.

None of which regarding the Teigu.

I narrow my eyes. This doesn't make any sense. The Empire Archive chamber should have information regarding the creation of the teigu's, lists, abilities, wielders, but I've been looking around for nearly an hour now but I couldn't find anything.

"Tatsumi!" I heard a yell.

I closed my eyes, but couldn't see anything.

I sighed. I forgot that I couldn't use my abilities in a closed space.

I walked towards where I think the yells are coming from and found Yoshiro standing before a wall at the very back of the chamber.

"What do you want?" I asked in annoyance. I'm a bit frustrated at the lack of answers.

"This is an archive chamber, filled to the brim with information, so don't you think it's suspicious that there is a random wall here?" He asked with a smirk.

I shrugged and leaned on the wall.

"Not real-"

I was interrupted by a pulse of energy that resonated from the wall.

My head started to ache and Shinatsuhiko started to glow.

A voice spoke in my head.

My mouth moved on its own.

" _Third row from the bottom, twelfth column from the right. Stab me into the brick."_ The voice and my mouth spoke at the same time.

"Are you okay? Did you hit your head somewhere? Your eyes are glowing green and you want me to stab you into the wall."

A tick mark appeared on my forehead and I felt a twitching inside my head.

The voice and my mouth spoke again, this time in a slightly different tone.

" _NO YOU IMBECILE, NOT TATSUMI, ME! THE SWORD! DID YOUR PARENTS DROP YOU ON YOUR HEAD WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD?!"_ I/the voice yelled.

Yoshiro was so surprised by the sudden outburst that he jumped back rammed into a bookcase, causing an avalanche of knowledge to drop on his head.

"Peasant, deserved every bit." The voice said.

I was frozen on the spot. My sword is apparently talking to me.

" _Of course I am, did you think sentient Teigu's are incapable of holding conversations?"_ The voice said.

'But Bulat never told me that he could talk to his teigu.' I reasoned. The voice made a snorting sound.

" _I don't even know how you humans managed to mistake Incursio to be sentient. Just because it can do some flashy transformation doesn't mean it is sentient. The danger beast that was made into Incursio was never an intelligent organism in the first place."_

'Huh? But isn't sentient meaning it's alive?" The voice sighed.

" _Sentient means it has a will, thoughts, and life. Incursio isn't alive, it merely inherited the Tyrants abilities to adept. There is a lot of explaining to do, I'll do it after you head into the Kings Archive Chamber."_ I tilted my head.

'What's that?' I felt another twitch inside my mind.

" _FOLLOW MY INSTRUCTIONS AND STAB ME INTO THE GOD DAMN BRICK ALREADY!"_ I heard it yell.

I sweat dropped and followed the directions.

I stabbed Shinatsuhiko into the brick and it slid in even though the brick was solid.

Another pulse came from the wall but nothing changed.

"Yoshiro, stay here and wait." The voice said through my mouth.

" _Go inside."_

'How?'

" _Walk through the wall"_

My hand reached towards the wall and it went though, causing ripples in the wall. My eyes widened before I stepped through the brick wall.

On the other side of the wall is a huge semi-circle shaped room, with book selves lining itself against the wall? In the center was a table with sofa's around it.

" _Alright, sit down, let's have a talk."_

I sat down on the sofa and closed my eyes.

I appeared inside my mind, standing in midair surrounded by clouds. A green orb floated in front of me.

"I'm guessing you're Shinatsuhiko."

" _Very Observant."_ It said sarcastically. It pulsed every time it spoke, and a gust of wind would hit my face.

I sighed at its attitude.

"Shinatsuhiko, you're supposed to be a girl right?"

" _Not really, high level intelligent danger beasts such as myself don't really care about gender, but since being the same gender as you is offensive to me I will accept being a female."_

I gave her a deadpan look.

"Did I do something to you?"

" _Shut up, idiot."_

"I apologize."

" _Anyways, your idiocy aside, if you have any questions, ask now or you won't get another chance."_

"Alright, let's start with where we are and why can I talk to you?"

" _Sure, whatever."_

It paused for a moment, as if gathering her thoughts.

Then again, it could be that she is just making me wait.

" _This is a secret chamber inside a different dimension. It holds all information about Teigu's, recorded from the dawn of our creation. The First Emperor utilized multiple Teigu's in order to create this chamber. Only specific teigu's are capable of opening the door to this chamber. I am one of them, and from what I know, there are only 2 others."_

"Because you're Sentient?"

" _Yeah, there are only 3 out of the 50 teigu's the First Emperor created that are actually sentient."_

"50? Isn't there only 48?"

" _There were originally 50, but due to special circumstances 2 were wiped off the current records, me being 1 of them."_

I nodded. I'm guessing I'll be able to find out these special circumstances inside this room.

"Can you explain why you qualify as sentient but Incursio doesn't?"

" _Hmm, let's see. According to ancient research and theories, a sentient organism must meet 3 requirements._

 _The Organism must have a 'body'_

 _The Organism must have a 'spirit'_

 _The Organism must have a 'mind'_

 _Having a body means a physical existence, spirit can be thought of as the organism's power and abilities, and mind is consciousness and capability to think."_

Shinatsuhiko let the information sink in for a few moments before continuing.

" _Though together they make a true sentient organism, they can exists separately. Most teigu's are made from the body parts of Danger Beasts, because of this, the weapon itself can be thought of as the 'body' and the power a teigu has is it's 'spirit'."_

" _But most teigu's lack the last aspect, the 'mind' meaning it can't make decisions, communicate, nor does it have morals nor emotions."_

"Then what makes you different?" I asked.

" _It's simple. Most Ultra Class Danger Beasts have what you humans call a 'core'. The core to us is similar to your brain. The 3 'sentient' teigu including me, are made from our body parts and then our live core, gouged from our still living bodies, were imbedded."_

"That sounds painful."

" _No shit, what if I gouged out your brain right here an now and imbedded it into a sword made from your bones?"_

"Sorry."

" _Sigh, don't worry, I consented anyways."_

My eyes widened.

"WHAT!"

" _What."_

"You let the first emperor kill you?"

" _Of course, do you think you weak puny humans can hurt me? Back when I was still a danger beast I would destroy a few cities when I got bored."_

"Why would you let someone kill you?"

There was a moment of silence.

" _Hmm, for example, if you were confined in a house of a decent size, with unlimited food and near eternal lifespan, and every once in a while a random robber would try and rob you, how does that life sound to you?"_

"Incredibly boring."

" _Exactly, I had been living at the very top of the food chain for hundreds of millennia's, nothing to do but laze around, eat, and once every few millennia some stupid beast will enter my territory and I would kill it. I was ready to flatten a country when some stupid little humans came and started throwing toothpicks at me. I was ready to flatten them when I overheard their plan to turn me into a living weapon."_

"So you let them kill you and now you're a sword."

" _Basically, since I'm sentient I'm also very picky in who wields me, more so than other teigu's, so after my first wielder died a millennia ago I've been bored as hell again until you came along."_

"What about the corpses in the cave I found you in?"

" _Oh them? Every few centuries a stupid guy would somehow fall off the cliff and wander into my cave, then they would touch me and I would blast them to the afterlife. You are actually the first to come on your own, I was honestly surprised about the pull I felt."_

I held my head trying to let everything sink in. That is when a terrifying question popped into my head.

"… Back when you were a Danger Beast, you could level a country just because you were bored right?"

" _Yeah? What's wrong with that?"_

"Does that mean you can still do that?"

There was a pause.

" _It's hard to say…"_

"Why?"

" _Sigh… Like I explained, my soul contains my powers, and my soul lives within my body. But since this sword was made from a small fraction of my old body, it contains a small fraction of my soul and thus a small fraction of my power, although if I fully released all my powers I should be able to level the capitol easily."_

"So-"

" _But…"_ I was cut off.

" _But that's not the only issue."_ I looked at the glowing green orb in confusion.

" _A soul is needed to move the body, a body is needed to contain the mind, and a mind is needed to control the soul. It's all about balance. The reason a Teigu's strength depends on its compatibility with its wielder is all about mental strength, the stronger you are mentally, the more of the teigu's full power you are able to unlock."_

"Am I not strong enough mentally to control your full power?" It snorted as if I was asking a stupid question.

" _A few weeks ago I unlocked around 25% of my full power for you, and what happened? You lost control and I took over. I proceeded to wreck everyone in your little group."_

I looked at the orb in anger.

"That was you?"

" _Calm down, I wouldn't have gone as far as to kill them nor damage them permanently, it was just to show you what happens if you lose control."_

I couldn't argue with that.

" _While having a sentient teigu makes it harder to control and more easily to go berserk, there is an upside."_

"What upside?" I asked still glaring.

I felt it smirking.

" _You have the potential to duel wield."_

* * *

 **Hi guys and girls, BzS here.**

 **So if you got confused about what I was talking about with the whole 'Sentient' thingy. It is my explanation/theory on how the Teigu works. If any of you had a hard time understanding, it is similar to the explanation given in _Log Horizon._**

 **To Clarify, to qualify as 'sentient', you need to have a physical body, a soul that possibly contains special abilities, as well as a mind. The soul possesses the body, the mind controls the soul and the body contains the mind.**

 **A teigu is made from the body parts of a danger beasts, the beasts soul still rests withing the body parts which is why they still have special abilities, but since they lack the mind, they are not considered sentient.**

 **For the 3 teigu's that are considered 'sentient', their cores, which is basically their brain, were taken from their still living bodies and re-embedded into the teigu. Since they fulfill all 3 requirements, they are considered to be sentient.**

 **At least that's the explanation I came up with.**

 **I will also be explaining everything about the potential to duel wield teigu's in the next chapter.**

 **Until then, it's up to speculation.**

 **Seeya Next Time - BzS**


	20. Chapter 20 - Archer of Seven Elements

" _You have the potential to duel wield."_

I stood shocked.

"W-what do you mean?"

" _I mean you have the capability to wield 2 teigu's."_

"H-how?"

" _Hmm, are you that dumb? Think about everything I just told you and come up with your own answer."_

I frowned. But decided it was right, I have a brain.

"They say the reason that Teigu's cannot be duel wielded is that it puts too much burden on the user, the user cannot handle the power of both teigu's and their bodies end up being destroyed. But what does your sentience have anything to do with my body?"

I heard it sigh.

" _Humans are really stupid, to think they somehow managed to mistake what we teigu's are."_

I tilted my head.

" _Listen up, we teigu's are not just normal weapons that contain energy. We are living weapons, and since we are living, we also have instincts."_

" _Back when we were Danger Beasts, we had our properties, and it was natural that we protect our properties from others. That is what one calls instinct. Since instincts is not under the control of our mind, it was also carried over to our form as weapons. Do you see what I'm saying here?"_

I quickly realized what it was trying to say.

"To you teigu's, your wielder isyour property, so when a different teigu comes along and tries to take your property, then you will fight. The energy within the wielder goes out of control and starts fighting each other, resulting in the wielders death."

" _Good answer, so to answer the question, how does having a sentient teigu allow the user to duel wield? It's simple. I, like you humans, can think, and because I can think, I can negotiate and live in harmony with another one like myself. Without a sentient teigu, the wielder alone has to mediate the 2 powers, and most humans are unable to do that, with exceptions."_

"So basically, since you can think for yourself, I will only handle the burden of 1 teigu and not both…."

I was beyond shocked.

The secret behind Teigu's, their mechanism and creation.

All I ever wanted to know about teigu's were now within my knowledge.

" _Seems like you're satisfied."_

I nodded.

" _But before you leave and try to duel wield, I will warn you about something."_

I listened closely.

" _Just because I'm here doesn't mean Duel Wielding doesn't have a risk. The risk might be less, but it's still there. For example, without me, you might have a 99.99% chance of failing, but with me here, it is still 50% chance."_

I nodded.

" _Also one last thing. The way you use my trump card pisses me off."_

I looked at it confused.

"Huh?"

" _It's exactly as I said. It's like watching a kid using a nun-chuck, not only hitting everything around you but yourself as well. Not to mention the power of it. It's like your trying to shame me."_

"What do you mean? Am I using it wrong."

I felt it sighing.

" _I'm pretty sure I said that if you used my full power, I could level the Capitol right? The Trump Card of our teigu is supposed to represent the full extent of our powers. Most of them have cooldown times, but not a lot have effects on their wielder. Including me._

I was once again dumbfounded.

"But using your trump card costs me my memories right?"

" _Like I said, you were using it like a child using a nun-chuck. That's all I will tell you, figure out the rest by yourself."_

I was lost in thought.

"Will I be able to talk to you outside of this room?"

" _Nope, since this room is special."_

I nodded.

"If that's the case, then before I go, I want to thank you."

" _For what?"_

"Everything."

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes, back inside the Semi-circle room, sitting on the couch.

My head hurt a little, probably from all the information I got today.

From Teigu mechanism, origin, biology, to it's creation, sentience, duel wield, lastly to my Trump Card.

I sat there for a while, letting my brain sort everything out.

After nearly 10 minutes or so I stood up and walked out the room.

Shinatsuhiko never did reply to my thanks, but I guess she's just too shy or so-

" _Whose shy you peasant?!"_

…

I burst out laughing.

I turned around and something caught my eye.

A large black book.

For some reason, it gave off an ominous presence.

Unable to resist, I walked over to the shelf and picked it up.

The title -

'Akashic Records of Danger Beasts'

"An encyclopedia of Danger Beasts?" I whispered to myself.

I began flipping through the book. Several familiar names popped up inside.

Well organized starting from the lower classes and finally ending in Ultra-classes.

Nothing seemed to jump out to me, but the ominous feeling hadn't left me.

That's when I reached the last page.

Shivers shook my body.

* * *

Subject: The Serpent of Chaos - Leviathan

Danger Class: Unknown

Confirmed Sightings : 2

Abilities : Unknown

A creature of unknown origins. It's strength is on par with 50 Teigu Users.

Nothing else is known about this creature. Everyone who's seen it refused to speak about it.

Note : Appeared twice in history, once during the "Insurrection of the 10 Gates". The other during the 536-572 I.D. Civil War.

Do Not Summon nor Fight.

* * *

Not knowing what to say. I closed the book.

"Shinatsuhiko, do you know anything about this creature?"

 _"... yeah. I've fought it before."_

"Really?"

 _"Yeah. My previous wielder participated in the Insurrection of the 10 Gates. Though I know nothing about the Civil War, what's 536-572 I.D. anyways?"_

"It means Imperial Date. As method of recording time and dates starting with the Beginning of the Empire, for example, the current year is 1017 I.D. 536-572 I.D. means the Civil war was around 450 years ago and lasted 36 years."

 _"What's this Civil War?"_

"I don't know much, but from what I do know, the Empire was corrupt which caused an Rebellion on a huge scale. Similar to what is going on right now. Though the Empire was Victorious back then."

 _"... 36 years... That's probably why..."_

"What's the Insurrection of the 10 Gates? And what's this Leviathan creature?"

 _"As of right now, you don't have the right to know."_

"... Then how do I obtain the right?"

 _"If it's your destiny, then the right will come to you. Plus, there's someone who's more fitting to tell this story."_

I sighed in resignation.

"Alright."

(Enter Line Break)

The wall rippled as I stepped through.

The scene before me was exactly as it was before I walked through the wall, with Yoshiro still buried under the books and papers.

"Guess time flows separately in that Dimension." I whispered to myself.

"Ugnnn." I heard Yoshiro groan.

"You okay?"

"Uh… Yeah, you scared me though."

"That was my teigu speaking." I said as I pulled him out from under the books.

"Really? How?"

"Too much to explain, I will tell you lat…"

" _Don't tell him anything. This is a secret you must keep, if this knowledge spreads a lot of dangerous events might come about."_

I heard Shinatsuhiko speak within my mind.

"I though you couldn't talk to me from outside the room?"

" _You're still close enough to it that I can communicate, though it's pretty difficult."_

"Can I tell the people I trust?"

" _No, don't, even if you trust them, there are teigu's that can read minds, or invade them."_

I nodded in acceptance.

"Who are you talking to?"

"My teigu."

"I have a lot of questions, but I guess you won't answer any of them?"

"You were supposed to give me answers, not vice versa."

"And? Did you get the answers you were looking for?"

I frowned.

"Yeah..."

We put all the books back onto the shelf exactly as before it feel and quickly left the chambers.

Yoshiro walked with me all the way back to the place we met up.

I bowed to him.

"Sorry for doubting you, I can't thank you enough."

He smiled.

"It's fine, looking forward to your continued patronage."

I smiled.

"I will contact you if I ever need your help."

"Same here."

"Once again. Thank you."

I shook his hand and ran back to the valley where the lake was.

I flew down and landed before the great tree.

I stared at the sword that was sheathed at the roots of the tree.

My hand reached towards it, but I stopped.

'50/50 chance of success.'

I clenched my fists and turned around.

"Not yet, soon."

With that I headed back to the cave.

* * *

I fell asleep before I realized it and morning soon came.

I woke up at the break of dawn and headed to the kitchen, prepping for breakfast.

The real question is what should I make?

The first thing that came to my mind is Katsudon or Tempura Soba.

Why? Because Akame would be satisfied.

I decided to go with Katsudon, and began making enough servings to feed all of Africa.

"What's an Africa?" I asked myself before shrugging it off.

"Tatsumi?" I heard a voice.

"Akame, morning." I said without turning around.

"Good morning, what's for breakfast?"

"I'm sure you already know."

"Mmhmm." She confirmed. I smiled gently.

"I got enough meat in yours to make you sick of them."

"Tatsumi, I don't think there's enough meat in this universe to do that." I heard a second voice say jokingly.

"Good morning Leone."

"Mornin!" She replied.

I finished up the food shortly and served it.

Lubbock looked at the food, and back at me, and then back at the food, and back at me.

"Tatsumi… where's breakfast?" I tilted my head.

"In front of you."

"This isn't a breakfast for humans! It's for black holes!" He yelled. I pointed at Akame, who isn't visible behind the mountains of gluttony.

"Like I said, it's a breakfast for black holes!" I then pointed at Leone, who sat already finished with hers.

"Like I said, it's a breakfast for bla-"

"Shut up and eat." Leone said glaring at Lubbock.

He visibly swallowed and began stuffing his face.

"How is it?"

"It's good…" He said.

We all finished breakfast and I finished cleaning up when Boss called for us to the meeting room.

She sat on her chair as we stood around.

"Alright, time to explain my 'bad news'." She announced. She took a deep breathe and began explaining.

"A week ago, one of our platoon, consisting of 50 or so people, went to fight an enemy platoon, which also consists of 50 or so people. It was expected to be a huge bloodbath, but our troops were expected to win, the end result…" I got a bad feeling.

"What happened?" She shook her head.

"We don't know, none of our troops came back. We sent out people 3 separate times to survey what happened, a total of 15 people. But only one messenger bird came back. The report said that they found nearly 150 bodies, 100 being the capitols, the other 50 being ours. The report also speculated that all 150 people were killed by 1 person." Everyone's eyes widened.

"Why did they say that?" Akame asked.

"Because they were all killed the same way. A single hole through the heart and arrows laid on the ground everywhere."

"Are you kidding me?" Leone said.

"The simplest explanation for the same killing method on 150 is that it was done by one person, but that is impossible. Let's not talk about how a single person killed 150 trained soldiers, but killing them all the exact same way with a single arrow through the heart. That is unbelievable." I said. Mein nodded.

"That isn't possible. A bow user can't aim perfectly unless they stand still, and they can't deal with numbers. It is also impossible to snipe with a bow at far ranges with extreme accuracy."

Najenda took a smoke. Su-san looked at us.

"That is what the report said, it couldn't be confirmed either cause no one else but that one messenger bird came back."

Everyone was silent.

"What does the headquarters plan on doing about it?" Lubbock asked. Najenda sighed.

"Everyone brought up a valid point. The only explanation is a teigu user. We don't know how it works, but many speculate that it is a bow that makes arrows seek the opponent's heart or chosen vital. It also allows the user to fire multiple arrows at once, not the mention the arrow can pierce through steel."

Leone narrowed her eyes.

"That is unbelievably overpowered. There is no way to defend against it unless they are capable of parrying multiple objects in an instant like Akame." Najenda nodded.

"That is why the headquarters is stuck. It is a suicide mission to send people on the mission to find and eliminate the user, but if we don't do anything about them there is a possibility the same will happen later." My eyes widened.

"Which is why they have ordered that-"

"You send one of us, right?" I interrupted. Najenda stared at me, then took another smoke.

"Yes. We can't let the user run wild, but we can't send anyone but our strongest." Bulat frowned.

"This is suicide." She nodded.

"I tried to refuse, but we can't. This is too big."

"But the Capitol is also involved. Can't we wait for them to deal with this person?" Lubbock suggested. She shook her head.

"We can't, if there is a chance that the Capitol manages to recruit this person, he will become the second Esdeath, and there is no way we are going to recruit someone that killed 3 battalions worth of people."

"I don't like this." Mein said.

There was a moment of silence.

"Who are we going to send?" The mood darkened. This is a suicide mission. I scanned everyone. My eyes landed on Bulat. His hand was twitching. I knew what he was going to do and I won't let it happen.

"I w-"

"I will go." I interrupted. They all stared at me.

"No, I will go." Bulat said firmly. I shook my head.

"Bulat, your teigu is an armor type, they counter you perfectly. Mein and Lubbock can't go because their teigu's aren't aggressive types. Leone can't defend against arrows aimed for the heart. I'm the only one who can go. I can destroy the arrows with Shinatsuhiko and I have my trump card if I ne-."

"I will go." I stared at her.

Akame.

"I can get close the user in seconds and kill him. I can destroy the arrows, even if there is a hundred of them."

"Akame, you-."

"Don't try to argue Tatsumi. Boss." Najenda look at the sky with her cigar in her mouth.

"I don't know."

Everyone was silent.

That was the first time anyone heard her say that.

"Everyone think carefully tonight. We are expected to send someone tomorrow." She said before she walked off. Towards the waterfall.

Everyone walked off. Towards their own thinking place.

The day flew by in a blink of an eye.

* * *

It was dawn, and we had to come to a decision.

Who would go, Akame or me, and I don't plan on losing this battle.

"Akame. I will go, stop arguing."

"…" We've been at it for nearly an hour now.

"Alright that's enough." Najenda said. "I'm sending you both."

…

"WHAT?!" I yelled.

"Boss! Why?!" She looked away.

"At this rate, we won't come to a decision."

"But that doesn't mean we shou-"

"Tatsumi." Bulat said. I shut my mouth.

"… If there is any chance that this mission will be a success we need the both of you. Watch each other's back and fight together, then you will succeed." I wanted to protest, I really did. But I knew she was right. I have this really sick feeling in my stomach.

"…Alright." Akame said. I nodded. Najenda nodded.

"Alright, we've got your ride ready. We are sending you to the scene of the massacre. Be careful, the Capitol might also send someone to check out the scene as well, so be ready to fight." We nodded and followed Najenda.

We reached the clearing, or in other words the parking space for the danger beast. We turned around.

"Guys, stay safe." Lubbock said.

"Good luck." Mein said. Bulat looked at us.

"Keep each other safe." Susanoo nodded at us.

"Tatsumi, fix your shirt." I sweat dropped but did as told.

"Don't die." Leone said. Najenda looked at us sadly.

"Come back alive. I wish you luck." We nodded to them and jumped onto our ride. And we took off.

Towards a battle that we would have never imagined.

* * *

We flew through the sky in silence. Nothing to say.

The silence continued for hours until we reached our destination.

I looked down as the clouds cleared. My eyes widened.

It was a grassy plain.

Painted red.

I narrowed my eyes on the scene.

Whoever it is, is not only strong, but cruel and guiltless.

I looked over to Akame, who had fallen asleep. I frowned.

"I won't let anything happen to you, I promise on my life." I whispered.

"Akame." I said. She woke up nearly instantly.

"Are we there?" I nodded and pointed down. She looked to the red plain and her eyes also widened.

"It's disgusting." She nodded. I patted the danger beast, signaling for it to go down. We slowly descended to the edge of the massacre. The danger beast then flew away and I turned to Akame.

"What should we do?" I asked. She narrowed her eyes at the scene.

"Stay alert, beware of any danger. Examine the bodies and try and keep count.

We split up, she counted one side, I counted another. The reports were true, the bodies had no wounds but a single hole through the heart and arrows laid everywhere on the ground. The final count was enough to make someone puke.

"More than 200." She said. I nodded.

"Looks like the Capitol not only sent scouts they also sent another squad. I doubt anyone lived." Now, the only question left is who did this? Why and how?

"Akame, what do you think happened?"

"I don't know, I don't k-" I held up my hand. I closed my eyes.

"… Someone's there." I said, turning around and looking towards the direction of the approaching person.

Akame stood silently, we slowly drew our weapons. I narrowed my eyes, whoever it is, they are coming close. I glared in the direction before my eyes widened.

My hands fell by my side, and I released my held breathe.

"Tatsumi?"

"It's okay, you can come out now."

"Sigh, you're such a party pooper." A voice said as he shimmered into existence.

"So, the capitol sent you huh?" He smiled.

"Of course, I am the second strongest in the Capitol after all." Akame's eyes widened.

"Y-Yoshiro?" He looked at Akame and smiled, nodding.

"It's been a while Akame." They stared at each other and I felt annoyed.

"Yoshiro, do you know how many of your people died?" He nodded.

"Initially, 100 soldiers, then we sent out a scout team of 15 people, none that returned. The emperor decided to send several special squads to deal with whoever killed all the troops, but they didn't return either. Among them was several trained assassins, soldiers and even a general. A total of 165 of our troops died." We nodded, that matches what our reports said.

"Were you the only who was sent?" He nodded.

"I specialize in infiltration and assassination because of Tsukuyomi, I was sent to spy and kill the perpetrator."

"Why are you guys suddenly so close?" Akame asked out of nowhere. I looked at her.

"Close?" She nodded.

"He is sharing confidential intel with you." Yoshiro smiled.

"Same reason I gave him Intel on the Capitol." I sweat dropped.

"And what reason is that?" She continued.

"It's a secret." He said with a wink.

"In any case, I don't sense anyone else around us. In a bare plain like this I sense everything within a mile radius. The perpetrator probably left." Yoshiro's eyes narrowed.

"Tatsumi. You just stated a huge weakness in the presence of an enemy." I raised an eyebrow.

"Are you going to betray me or something?" He shook his head.

"No, but he will." He said before he turned around and looked into the distance. I looked over there.

I don't see anyone? My eyes widened when I heard a laugh.

"Seems like your sword can only tell where things are, but not tell whether they're dead or alive." I pulled out my sword, so did Akame.

"Who are you?!" I yelled. From the corpse someone stood up.

"Hm? Weren't you guys looking for me?" My eyes narrowed, this was the guy. But where did he come from?

"Akame, did we somehow miss him?" She nodded.

"There were hundreds of bodies, we could have easily missed out on him if he was laying there pretending to be dead." He burst out laughing.

"Pretending to be dead? Why would I do that? I was taking a nap when I heard you guys started chatting, Night Raid and the Jaegars." I narrowed my eyes.

"You know about us?" He nodded.

"Of course, who wouldn't know about the revolutionary army's strongest squad and the Capitols strongest force? I know you guys, Tatsumi, Akame and Yoshiro." Akame stared at him.

"This guy is confident against us, don't let your guard down." I nodded.

"Why'd you do all this? Who hired you!?" I yelled. He smiled.

"Who hired me? I don't listen to anyone, as for why, you will be dead before you find out."

His appearance was fully revealed by this point. My eyes widened. A girl? She had long brown hair reaching the small of his back, a slim body and a bow strapped on her back. She had special blue, green and white armor, arm guards and gloves and special looking high heels. By her left ear, in her hair was a feather that seemed to be glowing. I stared at her, she looked back at me and smiled.

"Surprised?" She said in a completely different voice.

"Y-yeah, just looking at you I wouldn't think you'd be one to murder more than 200 people." She smiled and looked back at me.

"Thanks." I looked back at her. This girl, she killed so many people, but I don't sense any killer intent.

"…" Akame stared at the girl.

"Name?" The girl looked back.

"…Hayami." Akame stared at the girl.

"Tatsumi, don't let your guard down no matter how innocent she looks, there's something to her that is different from any opponent I've faced." I nodded.

"So, do you want to attack us first or the other way around?" She smiled.

"You act different now that I show myself as a girl, a lot of people did the same." She said. She gave me the most innocent smile.

"They all died. Fast."

With that she pulled out her bow and an arrow popped out of nowhere. My eyes widened as I jumped to the side, the arrow shot past me. I slid to the side and glared at her. I turned to look at Akame and nodded.

"Yoshiro, you in this?" Yoshiro smiled.

"I'll stay back for a while." I sighed.

"You really don't like fighting your own fights do you?"

"Maybe it's because I'd rather not have you guys see yourself getting skewered over and over again, ever thought of that?"

"Nope, no time to think." I said before I fired a wind blade at her. She responded by shooting an arrow back, my eyes widened when her arrow glowed green and destroyed my wind blade, the arrow shattered too.

Akame reached her in seconds and swung at her, Hayami jumped back and shot an arrow at the ground near her. I barely saw the arrow glow black and Akame stopped moving. My eyes widened.

"Akame!" Hayami brought up her bow.

"One down." Her arrow glowed brown and I appeared in front of Akame. I blocked the arrow with my sword but felt as if trying to block a dragon with a stick. I grit my teeth as I was pushed back, but as I skid back I knocked the Akame's arrow out of the ground and then fell backwards on purpose, the arrow shot above me.

I looked back at Hayami and I rolled to the side, but I felt a searing pain by my side. I quickly got up and held my wound. That arrow she shot at me, I didn't even see it being released. I jumped backwards back to Akame's side.

"She's strong, really strong." Akame nodded. I narrowed my eyes.

"Your bow, it's a teigu." Hayami glared at me.

"Oh? How would you know that?" I frowned.

"I know about all 50 Teigu's out there."

"Then you know what it does?" I glared at her.

"Teigu –"

"Hunter of the Seven Elements - Artemis." Hayami stated.

"If he's going to tell you anyways, I'd rather tell you. It has seven abilities, each representing an element. Lightning, fire, water, wind, earth, darkness and light. I can fire arrows based on these abilities. As for what they do, you're going to have to find out." She brought up her bow and arrow and shot an arrow glowing red.

I moved to the side and as it hit a body behind us the body was set on fire.

"Fire lights up whatever it hits." I said.

"Wind has greatest piercing power." Yoshiro said.

"Darkness can pin ones shadow." Akame said.

"Earth has most power and impact, Lighting has greatest speed."

Hayami glared at us.

"I have not met anyone that has realized what my abilities do this fast." She then smirked.

"But, that isn't going to help you."

She brought up her bow and fired. Akame dashed forward, slashing the red arrow in half. Flares rained down on her but she was too fast to get hit. I appeared behind her right before Akame reached her.

"We got you." I whispered. But my eyes widened when she smirked.

"That's what you think."

I suddenly felt my body stop moving. I looked down and saw an arrow piercing my shadow.

She then fell backwards, Akame's sword cut off a bit of her hair. As she fell she brought up her bow and shot a blue arrow.

"Akame! Watch out!" Akame swung her sword and hit the arrow. Her eyes widened when the arrow splashed out, reforming into dozens of small arrows.

She jumped backwards at full speed and started swinging her sword wildly, blocking most of the arrows. But a few cut her face and different areas of her body. But before she could land, an arrow flew at her. Music filled the air as the arrow approached Akame. The arrow was glowing green and as Akame blocked with Murasame, it shattered.

Murasame shattered.

I felt my heart stop as the arrow pierced Akame through the heart. I couldn't move. I think my heart will stop soon too. Beside me Hayami brought her bow down.

"One down." I stared at Akame's corpse.

"No…" I felt the world around me slowly darken, then turn red.

"NO!" I yelled as wind swirled around me, the arrow pining me down was blown away and Hayami jumped away.

Yoshiro suddenly appeared behind me.

"Tatsumi…Calm down." I turned my head to glare at him, I wanted to skewer him right now.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST TELL ME TO DO?!" Yoshiro looked at me.

"I said calm down, do you think I will sit there forever." The world around me shimmered. Akame stood beside him.

Behind me, Hayami narrowed her eyes.

"Your teigu is annoying." Yoshiro smiled.

"A lot of people say that, but I feel like I should end this now." Hayami brought up her bow.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Yoshiro smirked and brought up his flute.

"By doing this." He blew but I didn't hear anything.

The world around us shimmered and I found myself in a world. Black, darker than anything I've ever seen and red. I found myself in a world of slaughter.

"Trump card. Welcome to my world." Hayami appeared in front of us, her wrists were tied onto a cross.

"Let the torture begin."

* * *

 **Disclaimer – Tsukuyomi does not belong to me, obviously, so don't sue me.**


	21. Chapter 21 - The Cause of Today

I looked around me. Red, black, red. Every object was red, everything else was black.

"Yoshiro, what is this?" I asked. He didn't turn around.

"Tsukuyomi's trump card. In this world, I have absolute control over your senses, what you see, hear, smell, taste, feel by overloading all your other senses with Tsukuyomi. It is also possible to stop someone from moving with a wall I create. If your mind thinks you can't do it, then your body wouldn't be able to." I looked at him and looked back at Hayami.

"You've got quite the dangerous trump." I said. He smiled.

"Don't want to hear that from you." But then he focused back onto Hayami.

"Now, let's see what we should do with you." He said. Hayami closed her eyes.

"Bring it." He smiled.

"Tough girl. Let's start physical and if that doesn't break you we will change to psychological." Suddenly, a blood covered wooden spear appeared in front of her.

"For the next 6 hours you will be skewered by stakes over and over again, the number with double every 10 minutes." As he finished the spear flew forward and pierced her stomach. She eyes widened and her mouth opened, but her scream was stopped by blood.

I closed my eyes and opened them again. She didn't have any wounds, there was a spear in front of her.

The world had reset.

I closed my eyes, tying to ignore the pained screams that filled the air.

* * *

I opened my eyes again. Hayami, on a cross with 2048 spears in her body, the spears are smaller than before and covered her from every angle. I closed my eyes again. I felt pity.

"6 hours is up." Yoshiro said. I opened my eyes and they were all gone. Hayami was panting.

"I am surprised. You have died over 200,000 times, but you have yet to shed a single tear." She was still panting, but then glared up at Yoshiro.

"It takes more than pain to break me." Yoshiro raised an eyebrow, but then closed his eyes.

"That's a pity." He opened his eye, which has hardened.

"Yoshiro, I think that is enough." He shook his head.

"Alright, if pain isn't enough, then let's move on to part two."

"For the next 6 hours…"

"Yoshiro don't." He closed his eyes.

"You will relive the most painful moments of your life."

The world shattered around us.

The world regained its color and Hayami was freed from her cross and we were in a completely different place. She fell to the ground on her knee's panting.

We all stood behind her as she looked around.

"T-this is…" I looked around. It was a village. I watched as villagers walked around happily, selling, buying, talking, laughing. I smiled. This reminded me so much of my village, the same warm vibe.

I spotted a family of 4. A mother, father and 2 little girls. One was around the age of 10, the other was around 8. I realized quickly who the 8 year old was.

Hayami.

I looked back at Hayami, her eyes widened.

"No… NO!" She yelled as the earth trembled and the sound of screams erupted behind me. I turned around.

In the distance I spotted a line of darkness. Shadows. My eyes widened, an army. I turned away from the army and looked the other way, there was another army.

A war. And the battle field is this village.

"What is going on?" Akame whispered.

"A war between 2 armies, this town is the battle field."

In a blink of an eye, the village went up in flames, the peaceful vibe was replaced by one of fear and destruction.

I watched as the village burnt to the ground, villages were burnt to death, crushed by debris, killed by soldiers. Even as one army retreated, the other stayed.

What they did made me hate humanity.

The survivors of the village, men were slaughtered, women were violated, kids were taken as slaves, the livestock and harvest was taken.

It was absolutely disgusting.

Hayami's family was huddled up in a house, but it wasn't long before it's doors were broken down.

"No…NO! STOP! STOP! MOM! DAD! SIS!" Hayami forced herself up from the ground and she ran at the soldiers, trying to stop them, but it was futile as she her hands phased through them.

The soldiers came up to Hayami and her family. His dad was stabbed in the chest and had his arm sliced off. Her mom was dragged outside and violated. As they approached Hayami's sister Hayami jumped onto one of them, but was kicked away and the roof collapsed on her. Her sister had a leg chopped off before the world shattered again.

Hayami collapsed onto the ground. Tears streaming down her face.

"… 5 hours and 40 minutes to go."

* * *

The world finally shattered and we returned to the real world. I opened my eyes and looked at the broken form of Hayami.

She laid on her stomach, her eyes were puffy and lifeless with tear streamed down her face. She was completely broken.

In front of me Yoshiro collapsed onto his knee's holding his eyes. But I didn't help him. How could I?

"..." Yoshiro stopped his panting.

"I know what you are thinking." I looked at him.

"Was that necessary?" He looked at me.

"… I feel sick, I feel like a monster when I do it. But her mind was too strong for me to get what I want." Akame looked at him.

"What did you want?" He pushed himself back up.

"Information. Why did she do this? What is her drive? And now that she is broken, she can't unleash her trump or whatever she has up her sleeve."

"How do you know she has something up her sleeve?" He looked at me like I was stupid.

"She may be strong, but not strong enough to take on 150 people." I closed my eyes.

"But…" He sighed.

"I didn't want to do it, but I had no choice. This is the second time I had to use my trump."

"What are the consequences?" He closed his eyes.

"All my senses dull by a great amount, and I can't use Tsukuyomi for a while." My eyes widened. He turned back to me. I could see his eyes lost a bit of life.

"I think after 5 times of using it I will lose all my senses completely. I might as well be dead." I closed my eyes.

"Akame, our work here is done. Let's head back." She nodded.

"Tatsumi, Akame." I opened my eyes.

"Sorry you had to see that." I turned away.

"Apologize to her." I said before I began walking away.

I barely took 5 steps when I felt something was off. I spun around.

"Akame! Yoshiro! DOWN!" We immediately dropped down to the floor. An arrow shot by us. It would have killed all 3 of us. I looked back.

Hayami stood, her bow glowing multiple colors. Her eyes were still lifeless. Her mouth moved, but I couldn't hear her. But I felt it.

"You will pay." Her eyes narrowed and life came back to it.

"YOU WILL PAY!" She screamed. She instantly shot 3 lightning arrows. We narrowly dodged them but then I immediately tackled Akame to the ground, 3 lightning arrows flew past from behind us. I turned around but saw nothing.

"What's going on?!" I yelled. Akame and I rolled out the way from a rain of arrows from above. I looked up, no one was there.

"DIE!" I heard Hayami yell. I looked at Yoshiro. I saw it, but the arrow reached Yoshiro before my words could.

A wind arrow pierced through Yoshiro. I watched as he collapsed onto the ground and a blue arrow came from above. It hit his leg and shattered, punching holes into his leg and pinning it to the ground. Yoshiro yelled in pain. I looked up and saw Hayami there, she shot another arrow. An earth arrow ready to crush his head.

Akame appeared above him and sliced the arrow in half from tip to tail. The arrow lost its glow and fell apart. I appeared right beside Hayami but she disappeared and appeared down on the ground. I dropped to the ground and landed beside Akame and Yoshiro.

"Yoshiro! Are you okay?" I asked. He looked at me.

"D-does it look l-like I'm okay?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Move out the way!" I looked back at Hayami.

Her bow was glowing rainbow colored, but what caught my eyes was her shoes. It hit me.

"Guys, we need to find a way to get out of here." Yoshiro turned his head towards me.

"W-why?" He said with great difficulty.

"She's a duel wielder." Akame's eyes widened.

"You mean she…" I nodded.

"She has a second Teigu."

* * *

Within a cave, hidden at the bottom of a valley. A huge creature looked up towards the sky.

It stretched out its wings and roared towards the sky, fire spewing from his mouth.

It took off into the skies.

* * *

"I thought it was impossible?" Akame said. I shook my head,

"The boss said no one has ever succeeded." Yoshiro closed his eyes. I looked him, he's losing too much blood.

"Akame, take him and run. Get to the danger beast, I will hold her off. I will be right behind you."

"… I re-"

"I don't care if you refuse! He needs medical attention, you need to live, and I won't die!"

"I-"

"Akame. For once in your life just listen to me!" I yelled, turning around. I stared her in the eye.

"…Please, do this for me." She look hesitant, I could see the conflict within her soul.

"…Tonight, we are having a meat buffet." I said. She closed her eyes.

"You promise?"

"I promise." She turned back to Yoshiro.

"Let's hurry." I closed my eyes and turned back to Hayami, who hasn't moved from her spot.

I walked towards her and stopped.

"Are you going to sacrifice yourself for them?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Sacrifice? We'll see about that."

She disappeared and I could only see a shadow. I turned around and moved my head to avoid an arrow. I sent a wind blade to cut through another. I saw that she was about to take off towards Akame so I boosted myself and appeared right beside her.

"… I am truly sorry for your past."

"But I have a future to live." I shot towards Hayami and she disappeared. I shot a wind blade behind me canceling a wind arrow. I dodged to the left and then ducked under 2 other arrows.

"A teigu that increases the users speed." I said out loud.

"Speed of gods – Mercury. Tatsumi, if you don't get out of the way I will kill you." I frowned.

"I have tasted your pain. I don't know what made you who you are today, but I do know that you are not getting past me." Her hair overshadowed her face.

"…Shut up…SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE PAIN I FELT!" She screamed with tears running down her cheeks.

"NOW OUT OF THE WAY!" She pulled out three arrows. Her bow glowed brighter and all three arrows were glowing a different color. I narrowed my eyes as a lightning, earth and water arrow flew at me.

I can't move out the way. The arrows weren't aiming for me. I closed my eyes and the lightning arrow neared me in an instant. I just managed to bring my hands up and parry. Shinatsuhiko glowed and I sliced the earth arrow in half. But it pushed me back 3 yards. I then stepped to the side and as the water arrow past me I grabbed it. It shattered and shards pierced my hands. I flinched.

"You will never catch them." I said.

"I can catch up to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Now, how do you plan on stopping me? The same move won't work twice." I glared back.

"I am sorry for your past. But I have those I want to protect as well. Yoshiro is a friend of mine, and you aren't killing him." I raised my sword to the sky as the wind picked up.

"I am capable of using my full power only when I am alone. You survived one, let's see you do it twice." I asked.

"May the wind show me the path and bring upon a storm to destroy my enemies." I said. The orb of my sword. The core of Shinatsuhiko glowed grey.

The wind picked up around us and a huge wind funnel appeared around us. Covering nearly the entire bloody battle field. As the clouds surrounded us I closed my eyes. I send a huge blast of air and startled the danger beast.

I opened my eyes. The danger beast flew off into the distance, the sound of wind blocking the yells of Akame.

I looked at my opponent.

"Welcome to my domain."

* * *

Off in the distance Akame knelt on the danger beast with wide eyes.

"… Tatsumi…" She whispered. Yoshiro was down and out.

One thing ran across her mind. She could jump out now and go help Tatsumi.

She stood up. The wind blew past her and her eyes widened.

She closed her eyes and sat back down.

'Come back alive Tatsumi…'

"I don't know if I can live without you."

* * *

She looked around her.

"Now I see why you can only use this when you are alone." She looked at me.

"Yeah, I can't risk hurting my friends." She stood in silence.

"I am jealous." I closed my eyes.

"…"

"Family, friends, close ones. I lost those a long time ago. I have been alone for nearly 3 years now."

"… I can be a friend."

She looked at me shocked.

"I can help you, we can help you."

"..why?" I smiled.

"Because we understand." She looked at me. Smiled.

"… Maybe…." She looked at the ground.

"In another life." My eyes widened as she appeared behind me. Her bow was up.

She was about to release when she was blown away.

"This is my domain, trying to sneak attack me is useless. No matter how fast you are you can't outrun wind." She looked at me and smiled.

"Care to test that?" I narrowed my eyes. Her shoes glowed and my eyes widened.

"Shit!" She smiled.

"Trump Card." She disappeared, a shockwave erupted from where she was. I realized she was behind me but my body was unable to move. I was only able to avoid the arrow from piecing my entire arm, leaving a large cut.

Hundreds of wind blades began flying at her but they all missed.

I moved out of the way of another arrow but just as I caught my balance I had to move again. Arrows came from all directions with miniscule delay. I grit my teeth and brought up a wind barrier.

I can see her moving. Very clearly. But my body isn't able to keep up.

Hundreds of shockwaves exploded everywhere. Every time she changed direction.

Sonic booms. Shockwaves created when an object breaks the sound barrier. The wind can't keep up with her. I closed my eyes.

How to deal with this? I moved my head to the left, closely dodging a wind arrow that managed to pierce my barrier.

I don't have much time left.

* * *

The danger beast landed near the base.

All of Night Raid was waiting. Najenda stepped up to the beast. They were hopeful, maybe they both returned.

Their heart dropped when only Akame came off, with another guy.

"Akame! Where is Tatsumi?" Bulat asked. Akame closed her eyes.

"I-I don't know." Mein looked at Yoshiro.

"He looks familiar." Akame nodded.

"Yoshiro, Capitols second strongest." Lubbock's eyes widened.

"Why did you bring him back!?" Akame shook her head.

"Long story, he needs help, now. I will explain everything."

"What about Tatsumi?" Leone asked seriously.

Akame looked back. She stared off into the direction of the battle.

"…He will be back, he promised." She whispered.

* * *

I have limited time. 1 minute at most.

I grit my teeth. I will die at this rate, her trump card perfectly counters Shinatsuhiko's. My wind blades can't reach the speed of sound no matter what I do.

I flinched as another lightning arrow cut my shoulder. What can I do?

' _you were using it like a child using a nun-chuck'_

Control…

I need to control my trump in order to use it at its full potential, but how?

I thought back to everything I knew, I have 30 seconds to come up with something.

Anything.

I ignored the pain as another arrow cut my waist.

Control… An image popped into my mind.

The ultra-thin wind slash I used to slice Stylish. The wind slashed power, speed and sharpness greatly increased because I compacted the size.

I opened my eyes and side stepped an Earth arrow that would've killed me. The arrow impacted the ground and sent a shockwave from behind me.

I don't have time to think about it anymore. It's now or never.

I closed my eyes brought all my willpower and concentration into trying to compact this huge storm around me. I don't know how I even did it.

If I were to describe it, it was like taking all the air within 1 km of me and mentally shoving it inside my body.

I felt my body was about to explode.

The storm I summoned died down and dissipated. I sensed Hayami stopping before me.

I was kneeling on the ground, with my eyes closed and fists clenched.

"Are you giving up?"

I couldn't reply, since I was too busy preventing my body from blowing up inside out, I had no idea what to do now that I shoved the energy used in my trump card within my body.

"Not going to reply huh? Well no matter." I could feel her bringing her bow up and pointing it at me.

"I'm sorry, see you in another life." I heard the bowstring resound and my mind gave out.

All the energy within exploded out and I felt my body being ripped up and disintegrated.

Strangely enough, I didn't feel the pain from the arrow.

But the even stranger thing is,

I felt my body impact the ground.

As the darkness closed in around me, a face popped into my mind.

'S-sorry, I lied.' I thought.

'Aka…'

* * *

I found myself floating, drifting around in the darkness.

Where am I?

How did I get here?

Why am I here?

What happened?

How long have I been here for?

Who am I?

I taste nothing. Hear nothing. See nothing. Smell nothing. Feel nothing.

My thoughts were lost. My words were lost.

My soul is lost.

* * *

A shadow slowly approached the body of Tatsumi.

"… Look at your pitiful state."

"This is the price you pay for not listening."

"This is the price you pay for being bound to this world."


	22. Chapter 22 - The First Duel Wielder

I lost myself.

I don't remember much.

I don't remember anything.

All I remember is a blurry shadow. Its hair moved with the wind.

And a pair of piercing red eyes. The most beautiful of its kind.

Who is it? What is it?

I don't know why, I don't know where I am.

But somewhere deep inside me, I knew where I am.

I can't die.

Not now.

Not here.

I have so much to live for. So much to do.

I haven't told her.

I can't die.

I won't die.

I felt myself sink. I felt something wash past me.

I didn't know I had my eyes closed, but I opened them.

I found myself drowning in water. My eyes widened as I felt myself being lifted into the air.

I was raised from the water and laid on the ground.

I coughed harshly, attempting to get the water out of my lungs. I coughed it up.

Red water. Everything came rushing back to me. My past, my name, my identity, Hayami, the arrow.

Akame.

I tried to sit up but I felt like my stomach was going to burst and my guts want to spill.

" **Stay down."** A thundering voice spoke. I recognized the voice.

"… K-a-iser?" I tried to ask, but each breath hurt, each letter felt like a rock being shoved down my throat.

" **What do you think? Now shut up and listen."**

* * *

 **Akame's POV**

Days has past.

He hasn't come back.

Everyone in Night Raid has given up.

Everyone but me.

The mood has been heavy, they've mourn his death.

I have not, I will not.

"Akame?" I turned around and Bulat stood there.

"Bulat." I said. He came and sat down beside me.

I stared at the campfire while he looked at me.

"Akame…" I stayed silent.

"Akame, what was Tatsumi to you?" I closed my eyes.

"A friend, a companion, a comrade and he still is." He looked at me sadly, I could feel it.

"Is that it? Nothing more?" I shook my head.

"He was more than that. Much more than that." I stood up.

"I have not and will not give up. He promised, I will search this world and the next to find him." I whispered. I walked away.

"Akame, boss has called a meeting." I nodded.

"I will be there. Give me a moment."

I walked into the forest, deep into the forest.

I sat down by the tree, that tree. 2 months ago. The tree where he left me for the first time.

I leaned against the trunk and I felt all my barriers break. All my defenses fall apart.

The sobbing echoed in the forest.

* * *

 **Tatsumi's POV**

I woke up again. For the second time I woke up feeling as if a drunk Leone just shoved her transformed fist down my throat. I forced my eyes open and was blinded by the light. I pushed myself up against my will and sat up. My whole body felt like it was just dumped in lava. I looked around.

"Home sweet home." I whispered.

" **Finally, I was wondering how long you'd be asleep."** I sighed.

"Kaiser, give me a break. I feel like I just died." I whispered.

" **What was that?"** My eyes twitched.

"Shut up. I know you can hear me." I whispered.

" **Who said I couldn't hear you? I just couldn't understand you and your human idiocy."**

"What was stupid about what I said?"

" **You did die you moron."** I couldn't turn around, but if I could I would be looking at him like he was stupid.

"Do I look dead to you?" I felt heat from behind me.

"Don't set my clothes on fire."

" **You got shot in the stomach by an arrow. Bled for about an hour and then dropped from about 100 ft. in the air into a pool. Most people would die from the first part."** I forced myself to turn around.

"Why did you drop me from 100 ft. in the air?"

" **The point is, you died."** I looked at my hands.

"… How long have I been out?"

" **3 days."** My eyes widened.

"I need to go back. Everyone must think I'm dead."

" **You did die."**

"THEN HOW AM I ALIVE?" There was silence. My throat felt like I put it through a blender but I don't care right now.

"… **I never told you about my past, did I?"** I calmed down. Somethings different. I shook my head.

" **I guess I should start from the beginning."** The earth shook as he walked in front of me.

I stood face to face with a dragon. A danger beast. Its wings was folded, but when stretched out it would be nearly 40 ft. wide with a single pointed claw at the tip. Scales covered its back and belly and 2 horns pointed from it's head.

" **My previous master was the first to ever duel wield."**

* * *

 **Akame's POV**

I stood along with all the other members in front of Najenda. We were being briefed about the upcoming and final battles.

The plans were working out perfectly. The revolutionary army is moving towards the capitol at a quick pace. The path of peace is working on the inside, there have been recently a few minor riots. The western tribes have been mobilizing smoothly as well. We are preparing for the final mission.

Assassinating the Minister.

And at this pace, it won't be long before it happens.

We need to get ready.

"That's the gist of what is going on. We need to be prepared for our operations that includes gathering Intel, planning infiltration and escape routes as well as meeting and working with our allies. We need to get to work immediately before the security within the makes things more difficult."

We nodded.

"Here is how things will go. Mein and Leone, you two are in charge of mapping out the underground channel. We have a few maps but they are outdated. It is essential for infiltration and escapes. A single mistake in mapping can lead to our death and missions failure." Leone and Mein nodded.

"Lubbock, Bulat. I need you two to go check on the state of the Capitols army right now. See if there is a pattern with the way they are sending out troops, if you can it will be a big advantage for us. In a few weeks, you will go meet up with some members of the resistance. They will be assisting in our attempt of attacking from the inside." They nodded in response.

"Akame, Susanoo, you will follow me. We will be meeting up with multiple spies, HQ messengers and ambassadors we have sent to the western tribes and path of peace. We will plan out our attack and operations. Always be on guard." We nodded.

"Today is our final day of relaxation. Things will become dangerous from here on. Are you all ready for this?"

"I've been ready for my entire life." Leone said. Bulat nodded in response.

"This day has finally come."

"Ahh, I'm feeling a bit nervous." Lubbock said. Mein scoffed.

"Don't chicken out now." I nodded at Najenda. She frowned a bit.

"Alright, you are all dismissed."

Everyone walked out the room and I was about to follow.

"Akame, can you stay for a second?" I turned around and nodded.

Everyone left the room, but I knew that they were waiting. Listening.

"Akame." I turned my attention back to Najenda.

"Akame, I know Tatsumi's… Disappearance has had the biggest impact on you… Are you okay?" I nodded.

"Yeah, I won't let my emotions get in the way of my missions." She looked hesitant but nodded.

"Alright… You are dismissed." I nodded and walked away.

I walked right past everyone and out the door. I jumped onto the roof and sat staring into the horizon.

'You promised.'

'Come back, Tatsumi.'

* * *

I stared at him.

"What?"

" **Yeah, the first ever to duel wield."**

"But there was no record of him! Yoshiro took me to the Imperial Archive Chamber and there was no mention of a duel wielder!" I said.

" **It was to protect my master."** I looked at him confused.

" **Let me speak. Don't interrupt, I will answer all your questions at the end if they weren't already answered."**

"…Fine."

" **A thousand years ago, the first emperor ordered for the creation of 50 teigu's."** I nodded.

" **The teigu's had the power of an entire army. But, many back then speculated that being able to wield two teigu's at once can allow the human to surpass what is human."**

" **Many tried to wield teigu's, but their bodies couldn't handle the power. But 50 people were found, each wielding a teigu. They were split into 10 squads, Gates 1-5 were combat oriented, with the 1st gate being the strongest and Gates 6-10 were support oriented. Together, they were called the 10 gates of Purgatory."**

" **My master's name was Sanjuro. He was one of the most powerful generals under the emperor. His relationship with the emperor is that of the closest friends. He was granted the blade of Tempest – Shinatsuhiko."**

My eyes widened. He wielded Shinatsuhiko?

" **With the power he wielded he led the 3** **rd** **gate into battle. Destroying all that was foolish enough to declare war on the Empire. Peace was brought to the empire, but like a dream, it was nothing but an illusion."**

" **The 1** **st** **and 2** **nd** **gates, the strongest of the 10 gates, decided to band together and overthrow the Emperor."**

Words flashed through my head.

'Insurrection of the 10 Gates'

'The Serpent of Chaos - Leviathan'

I swallowed my anxiety and continued to listen.

 **"The other 8 gates fought back, but because teigus were not created to fight together in a large group, they began losing ground."**

" **Some of the 50 died. Among them was the entire 3** **rd** **gate. All except my master."**

My eyes widened.

" **In rage and hate he picked up the teigu of his fallen ally, a friend in arms who had saved his life many times. The teigu accepted him. With his newfound god-like power he obliterated the enemy with the help of the other gates. The powers he showed granted him the title of Brynhild, hunter of gods."**

"What does any of this have to do with me dying but not dying?"

" **I will get there. My Master found me when he was younger."**

" **He found me in an abandoned nest as an egg. He hatched me and raised me, as the first speaking, loyal Ultra-class danger beast. Under his command, I fought for him.** **"**

 **"After that battle, m** **y** **master found his wife. The 10 gates now reduced to only 7 gates needed re-organizing. My master's wife, Mineko, was assigned to his new squad of only 2 people. Mineko's teigu was simple."**

I realized what was going on.

"Healing?" I asked. He nodded.

" **Teigu - Heaven's fountain –** **Asclepius. It takes a form of a necklace with a single teardrop shaped jewel. Ability is simple, healing."**

" **Not just any healing, any wound of any kind, poison, illness, disease, if the patient is breathing the healing can be done."** My eyes widened. That kind of power that is not in any way balanced.

"… There's a downside isn't there?"

" **Of course, each time she healed someone, her own health got worse, she became weaker, sick, dying."**

" **It was during this time, after they had married and the peace has settled, that she became weak to the point she had a risk of dying at any moment. It was at this time, that people began hating and fearing my master."**

I nodded. Great power during times of war is a target of respect, great power during times of peace is a target for jealousy and fear.

" **The emperor realized this and quickly sent my master, Mineko and I away. The chance of assassination attempts is too likely for the weak Mineko to stay. My master was wiped off all records and his teigu's were removed from the books. The original 50 teigu's was rewritten as 48 teigu's."**

" **But the inevitable happened. One day, we were wandering the land during a huge storm when Mineko triped and fell. The storm was so great that we couldn't see more than 5 ft in front. She tripped and fell right into this valley."**

" **We managed to save her before she hit the ground, but the shock was too much for her weak body. In her dying moments, she created this lake with her trump."**

" **At the cost of her life. She is able to save the life of another."**

I looked at him in shock.

" **My master was devastated by this. He left me and his other teigu here to protect this fountain forever. Until a worthy human finds this place and is approved my both me and his teigu. That human was to be my second master, the second wielder of his teigu, and the only to ever use this fountain."**

I caught on.

"M-me?" He nodded.

" **The fact that I didn't eat you the first time I saw you was because I wanted to test you. If you failed the test than I would have killed you."**

 _\- Flashback – 3 months ago –_

 _I stared down at the creature. A huge danger beast in the form of a dragon._

 _I grit my teeth as I held my arm, a huge burn and multiple cuts were existent on my body._

 _I found it sleeping in the cave, and after a huge battle I somehow managed to defeat it, but almost died more than once._

 _I heard a rumbling voice._

" _ **What are you waiting for?"**_ _I looked down at the dragon, nothing else was nearby._

" _You can talk?" It scoffed._

" _ **You defeated me, what are you going to do now?"**_ _I looked at him and smiled._

" _You're not scared?" It scoffed again."_

" _ **All that I feared is long gone, I fear nothing, bow down to nothing, and will accept no mercy or show no mercy."**_ _I smiled._

"… _Well then you stubborn dragon. I think I'm going to let you live." He glared at me._

" _ **I said I will accept no mer-."**_

" _Who said anything about mercy? I just don't feel like killing anything today." I said before I turned around and walked away._

" _ **You are an odd human."**_ _It said. I smirked._

" _I get that a lot."_

 _-End Flashback-_

" **I have been hibernating for almost a millennium. I woke up recently in the past years because I sensed something, someone was going to come. If I was at the peak of my strength, a human like you couldn't kill me if you tried."**

"You stubborn little lizard." I whispered to myself. But then I realized something.

"Wait, that sword is your master's second teigu?" Kaiser nodded.

" **Yes. That further confirms your lineage."**

"My lineage?'

" **You were chosen by Shinatsuhiko, you were accepted by me, you were drawn to my master's second teigu."**

I was speechless.

" **You are the rebirth of Brynhild – Hunter of Gods."**

* * *

2 weeks passed since Tatsumi disappeared.

I'm starting to feel helpless, lost, hurt.

He promised, he promised me he wouldn't die, he promised he will come back.

I can still feel the wind, back on the danger beast heading back to base with Yoshiro, the wind that spoke to me.

'Live. Akame.'

His voice reached my ears. I heard him. I am sure.

"Akame." I looked up. Susanoo was looking at me.

"Su-san." I said. He nodded.

"We are leaving." I tilted my head.

"What?"

"Today we are going to go meet with the messengers from the western tribe with the boss." I nodded.

In the past week, we have been going out almost every day to meet with spies and messengers. Things have been smooth. The mobilization has been smooth, the organization has been going well, and the planning seems flawless. Everything is going smoothly.

Too smoothly.

Something seems out of place, and I have a bad feeling. Lubbock and Bulat had went out to contact with the resistance, Leone and Mein were heading out to map the underground passage.

"Let's go." I said.

* * *

Bulat and Lubbock walked down the alley way that the resistance was supposed to meet them at.

"Hey Lubbock."

"Hm?"

"What do you plan on doing after this whole thing?" Lubbock smiled.

"I will have to expand my book shop to the point it becomes known throughout the land."

"Oh? That's a big goal." Lubbock smirked.

"Of course. But that is nothing compared to my other goal."

"What is it?"

"What else? To propose to Lady Najenda." Bulat smiled.

"Good luck to you."

"Thanks."

We stopped when a shadow appeared in front of us.

"Who are you?" Bulat asked. We brought our weapons up.

"You guys are part of Night Raid… Right?" They said. The voice was that of a female.

"Who are you?" Bulat repeated.

"Don't worry. I'm part of the resistance." We didn't let our guards down.

"Proof?" She brought her hood down and looked at us, before holding up a pendent with a picture of a dove.

We let our guards down.

"Sorry." I apologized.

"No worries, if you weren't on guard I would question whether you guys were legit." We nodded.

"Take us to the main group."

* * *

 **Tatsumi's POV**

A week has passed. My body has healed at a shocking rate, I'm assuming it's the water's reason.

" **The water may have lost its power to revive, but the power to heal is still present, even though it is but a shadow of its original power."**

That was the explanation given to me by Kaiser.

I don't have time to waste. My body has almost fully healed and any longer I'm afraid of what might happen to my friends.

Which is why, I stand here.

I stare at the sword. The dusty, rusty, worthless looking sword. But I could see past it, the beauty of the blade was shocking. Unlike when I first saw Shinatsuhiko, which was calming, this sent a shiver down my spine. The power, it reminded me of 7 years ago.

" **Are you ready?"** Kaiser said.

"Yeah."

" **It seems I will witness the rebirth of my master."** I shook my head.

"If you assume I am the rebirth of your master then you are sorely mistaken."

" **What?"**

"I am not the rebirth of Brynhild – Hunter of Gods." I grabbed the sword by its handle.

The power coursed through every single nerve in my body.

"I am Tatsumi."

* * *

Hey Guys and Girls, BzS here.

Sorry for this long and boring chapter, call it a filler, call it a background chapter, and call it whatever. I still hope you enjoyed.

Now if you just skipped the chapter because you saw a lot of words and assumed it wasn't a huge battle, I would really recommend reading it, you'll find out a lot.

But anyways. Thanks for all the support and all that mushy stuff.

Peace.

We Out - BzS


	23. Chapter 23 - The Moment Before Death

**Hello lads and ladtresses.**

 **So just to answer the question in everyone's mind.**

 **Why did I post 3 chapter in 1 day?**

 **The answer is simple and very obvious**

 **I don't want to do homework,**

 **Enjoy!**

 **EggsD**

 **（ﾟДﾟ）**

* * *

 **Bulat's POV**

We followed the lady from the Resistance to the palace. We hid ourselves and followed her to a small structure located in the far corner of the palace garden. The building looked old and forgotten, she went up to the building and knocked on its gates, but there was no response.

My eyes narrowed in suspicion, Lubbock and I walked up.

"What's wrong?" Lubbock whispered. She shook her head.

"I don't know, someone is supposed to knock back, but there is no response." I looked at the front gate.

Something caught my eye, a color. Red, the red of blood.

My eyes widened.

"Wait." I said, I opened the door and our escort screamed.

The bodies of the people we were supposed to meet. There were more than a dozen.

I turned back.

"We need to get out, if they found out about this meeting…" A noticed that there was heat radiating from behind me.

"Watch out!" Lubbock yelled. I dashed at Lubbock and our escort and grabbed them both, throwing them out before leaping to safety, the heat from the explosion brushed against my back. I rolled on the ground and landed on my knee's before looking behind me.

"Arg… They rigged the bodies?" Lubbock said, pushing himself up. I nodded.

"Looks like they found out alright, they were waiting." I said before looking back. We were surrounded by multiple people. I pulled out Incursio and Lubbock got ready. We were about to run at them when a voice come from behind us.

We turned around. A man was sitting on a piece of debris. I looked at him, when did he get there?

He was wearing a white shirt and white pants. His shirt covered his neck and revealed his shoulders and stomach. His arms were covered my white sleeves. His hair was white and his face had a large X-shaped scar.

"So you guys are part of Night Raid huh? For a group known for their quick assassinations you guys sure took your time. I should kill you for making me, the great Syura, Son of the current prime minister, waste my time waiting. But that would be boring. I hope you guys prove to be more entertaining than those resistance wimps. They couldn't even handle my torture for a m-" His eyes widened as I equipped Incursio and dashed at him.

I almost reached him when a large black sphere entered my vision and I skid to a stop before jumping back. The sphere flew at the burning structure and expanded into a larger sphere. The flames were sucked into the sphere and then disappeared.

I looked towards the direction the sphere came from and saw a large man standing there. He was a head taller than me, his hair was spiking upwards and he wore heavy armor. He had huge armguards and a red cape. I recognized this man.

"Budo." Lubbock's eye's widened.

"This is the current Commander in Chief?" I nodded. He is a force to be reckoned with. His teigu, Force of Aether – Black Hole, is capable of wiping out a platoon in an instant.

"You bastard, how dare you interrupt me?" Syura yelled angrily. But I focused on Budo.

"Tsk, it seems a few bugs have sneaked into the palace." His voice boomed with force.

"Do you wish to fight?" He said. We got into a battled stance.

"What do you think?" Lubbock said. He threw his cape away.

"Then fight it is." He immediately ran towards me, each step crushed the ground beneath him. He was slow, but I could feel the force behind each step. He threw a punch at me and I immediately dodged. The force behind the punch hit the ground and a huge indent was created.

I landed on the ground and looked at the damage. His teigu was a pair of gauntlets, they were nearly 100% black, except at the center of the palm was 2 round, grey indents.

A single punch would probably indent, maybe even break Incursio, knock me out and probably shatter a bone. Something seemed off. He was moving too slowly to be normal. He is the commander in chief, rigorous training would not allow for this speed.

The force of his punches are in a different league, but if he can't hit them what's the point. I narrowed my eyes. He has something up his sleeves.

From the corner of my eyes I could see Lubbock running towards me.

"Lubbock! Stay b-." I was interrupted when Syura appeared in front of Lubbock. He appeared from what looked like a purple portal.

My eyes widened. A teigu that controls space? I felt the ground below me rumble I turned back to my opponent.

"Shit!" I yelled. I immediately summoned Neuntote and tried to block. The force behind the punch, I felt like I was trying to stop a freight train running at max speed. The forced shot me backwards. I flew through 3 tree's and skid on the ground before crashing into a rock, completely obliterating it. I yelled in shock.

I laid there for a moment, pain pulsing through me. I pushed myself up, and stood back up. Neuntote was bent in the center where it was hit. My armguard was cracked and my right arm was bleeding slightly. Other than that, everything was fine. I was a bit disoriented but recovered quickly.

I looked back towards where I flew from. I took a look at my surroundings. I might be able to fight him in this environment where there are more objects to block him. I nodded and jumped onto a nearby tree, almost losing my balance. I sat down on the branch. I've got a minute before he comes to check if I was knocked out. I need to regain my bearings. I looked back at the clearing from the treetop and I could see Lubbock fighting Syura.

The fight was intense, Syura teleported around, dodging any attempt made by Lubbock to lock him down, but Lubbock was able to block and dodge most of Syura's attempts. I could see Lubbock is slowly gaining an upper hand, the ability to teleport through space in an instant must be taxing. He will eventually collapse of exhaustion.

I looked at the battle field and multiple glints in the light. I smiled, Lubbock has really grown since I first met him. I felt the tree shake a bit and stood up. My face became serious.

I have my own battle to fight.

* * *

I grabbed onto the sword and the power pulsed through me. The sword began glowing yellow and electricity began shooting out.

It feels as if a million volts struck every single of my nerves, I screamed in pain. I dropped down onto one knee. I didn't let go. My insides felt like they were melting and I could barely think. But that wasn't the worst of it. I felt another force. A force pulsing through my veins, calling out to me. I reached, with great difficulty, to my other sword. Shinatsuhiko. I grabbed onto it and pulled it out.

I screamed as Shinatsuhiko began glowing. A huge gust of wind blew past me and through the canyon.

2 forced fought inside me, the 2 greatest forces of nature battled within my sub-consciousness. I wanted to let go, my mind was telling me to, my body was telling me to, my heart was telling me to, I was telling me to. My whole existence was screaming at me, telling me I had too much to live for, too much to risk.

But I couldn't. I have too much to live for, too much to protect. It is the exact reason why I am here, why I won't let go.

I grit my teeth and I forced my eyes open.

"LIKE HELL I'M DYING HERE!" The sword began glowing brighter and lightning began shooting out, a huge storm cloud began forming above my head. Shinatsuhiko began glowing brighter, several smaller tornadoes began forming around me and the wind blew through the canyon with the force of a hurricane.

The sword, once rusty and old, began to crack. I felt the raging power begin to calm, and the battle within my existence begin the wane. The electricity began seeping back into the blade until it stopped. The clouds above me disappeared, blown away by a new gust.

In a blink of an eye, the absolute chaos, became calm and controlled. The only sign that a battle ever raged in these canyons was the smooth walls and tilted trees.

I forced myself to stand up, every single nerve within my body burned. I closed my eyes and opened them again, one eye glowing green, the other glowing yellow. I pulled the sword out the ground and collapsed.

* * *

I opened my eyes to a familiar scene.

One from months ago.

I was surrounded by clouds, standing in mid-air. But it was different.

The clouds were pitch black, lightning arched from one cloud to another. Wind raged with the force of a hundred tornadoes. Yet I didn't feel fear, nor did I submit to the force of the wind. I looked around me and began walking towards a direction. I could sense the source of all the chaos, the eye of the tempest.

I walked on, the storm around me grew more violent. As I walked, visions, images, emotions, flashed through my mind. Slaughter, killing, blood, rage, anger, sadness, pity. I kept walking, and eventually I reached what seemed to be a huge sphere.

It was no normal sphere. A sphere made of clouds, lightning arched all around the sphere and tornadoes spiraled around it. I fought against the forces and entered the sphere.

2 orbs.

One glowing green, the other glowing yellow. Lightning pulsed from the yellow orb, wind blasted from the green orb. I knew what they were.

As if they noticed me, the lightning around the yellow orb shot towards me, but the wind from the green orb blasted it away. I didn't flinch, I didn't fear, and I don't know why.

"I guess you are a stubborn one huh?" I whispered. I extended my hand out towards the green orb and it glowed stronger, I closed my eyes and once I opened it, Shinatsuhiko was in my hands.

I got into my stance and looked towards the yellow orb. Lightning raged from it as it took form.

A glowing yellow beast.

I breathed in and out and I dashed towards it, I sliced through a bolt of lightning it fired at me and I slashed it, but my sword went right through it.

I didn't know what was going on, I sliced through bolts of lightning one by one. It felt as if my arm was moving on it's own before the bolt was fired.

This continued for a while, when I felt Shinatsuhiko speak to me, telling me what to do. I closed my eyes and felt the air around me being sucked into me.

I opened my eyes again, the clouds around were gone and I felt the energy within me trying to burst out.

The lightning beast stared me down and lunged at me. I brought my arms to my side, Shinatsuhiko in my hand.

Just as the lightning Beast was about to bite my head off, I let the energy within me burst out.

I felt my body being torn to shreds, disintegrated, but I felt no pain.

It was shocking how comfortable it felt, how relaxing.

But what was even more shocking, was when the lightning beast phased right through me.

I stepped to the side, out of beasts chest area, turned my sword into a reverse grip and swung up.

With Shinatsuhiko glowing green, I sliced the beast into 2.

The lightning shot in every direction, leaving behind a thundering boom.

I felt myself falling.

I blacked out again.

* * *

 **Bulat's POV**

I finally regained my bearings and I'm ready to fight again.

Budo has been searching for me for a while now, I've activated my invisibility and I've been observing him, trying to find a weakness.

When Incursio evolved on the boat, the only weakness of my invisibility was removed. Unless one has heightened senses, it is nearly impossible to detect my presence even if I'm moving around. In fact, it is now possible to fight someone completely invisible.

But that won't work on Budo, as the Commander in Chief his danger sense has been honed to the point if I go in with any killing intent he will sense it.

I've been observing him for a while now, he seems suspicious that I am around, but he doesn't know where. I've noticed something odd. He tries to cover it, but I can tell he is tired. Not to mention is it odd that the ground cracks every time he take a step.

Somethings not right. What is it?

"Come out." He said. I looked at him from the tree above.

"I know you are there." I narrowed my eyes.

"I will give you 10 seconds to reveal yourself and surrender or I will force you out."

"10." What is he going to do?

"9-8-7-6." I racked my brain for a possibility of what he is going to do. Did he sense me?

"5-4-3." He clapped his palms together. I felt energy building up. My eyes widened.

"2." I attempted to jump away. This technique is-

"1. Too late." A greyish purple ring pulsed from him and as it hit me I felt myself drop. I crashed into the ground instantly and created a huge crater. I felt tried to push myself back up, but it felt as if I had a boulder on my back.

My invisibility wore off and I pushed myself back onto my feet. My knee's sagged as I tried to keep myself from falling again.

"What is your name?" I heard him say. I grit my teeth.

"Why should I tell you?" I said, my voice was shaking from exhaustion.

"Not many could withstand Black Holes gravitational barrier." I tried to smirk.

"Name's Bulat." He nodded.

"It's too bad. You are quite talented. But you made the decision to rebel against the empire and disrupt the peace. For that you will face the consequences." I felt the force increase as I was forced onto my knees.

I grit my teeth. I could feel my consciousness fading. I still haven't recovered from his punch, if I did I might be able to fight this force.

I closed my eyes. This is the end isn't it?

I fell onto my stomach as the world turned black.

* * *

 **Lubbock's POV**

I ran towards Bulat, ready to back him up when a fist appeared out of nowhere. I managed to bring my arm up in time and blocked it. I looked up and saw it was that asshole. Syura or whatever his name was.

How did he get there? He was behind just a second ago. I stared at him and blinked. I suddenly felt a presence behind me and I turned around just in time to block a dagger from entering my back. My eyes widened when I saw it was Syura.

How did he get there so fast?! I created a shield from my strings and blocked multiple daggers flying at me and sent my string to bind him when he disappeared in a purple blur.

"HAH! You think that would hit me?" A voice said from behind. I flipped away but he managed to slice a piece of my cloak off.

"What?" I whispered. He smirked.

"Come on now, if you beg me hard enough I might just tell you what my Teigu does." I glared at him. He smirked.

"I like that look on your face. I guess I might as well tell you, not like you can do anything to stop it." He brought up his teigu, a pendant with a pattern. A dot in the center, 3 blossom petal shaped markings and 3 dots between the petals.

"Dimensional Formation – Shambhala. My teigu can teleport anyone, anywhere as long as I have-" He disappeared again.

"-marked that spot." I heard the voice come from behind me. I turned around just in time to see the purple blur and I immediately jumped away from daggers coming from behind me. I turned and saw him twirling an object, a syringe.

"It's quite tiring." He said, disappearing. I felt something above me and I flipped away, dodging his kick.

My eyes widened, he can mark the air too?

"Which is why I have this thing." He said, his eyes widened in excitement as he jabbed the syringe into his neck. I felt like puking as I saw multiple veins pop out from his face.

"Hehehe. I'VE MARKED EVERYWHERE IN THIS AREA, YOU HAVE NOWHERE TO GO!" He yelled as markings appeared everywhere. I looked around in shock, this is his battleground now.

I ran, I dashed away from him.

"THAT'S RIGHT! RUN! RUN IN FEAR! LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN GET AWAY!" I ran, circles appearing everywhere around me. He was a purple blur, appearing, disappearing, and reappearing again.

I skid to a stop and used my string to grapple myself into the air. He reappeared right before me and hammered me into the ground. I spat out a bit of blood but I got back up.

"You've marked the air too?" He smirked.

"I said I've marked everywhere right?" Multiple circles appeared in the air. I looked around, there is nowhere to run. But… I ran anyways, I ran around the area, everywhere. He laughed at me as he chased me everywhere. I ended up in the same place I started, I grit my teeth, there's no where he hasn't marked.

"Are you done yet? This is getting boring." I glared at him when suddenly, I heard a huge cracking sound. I looked towards the forest area and saw that multiple trees were getting crushed by something. My eyes widened, I let my guard down!

I looked back at him and noticed he was waiting.

"Why did you wait?" He smirked.

"It didn't matter, you have nowhere to go, nowhere to run. I want to see how long before you give up." I sighed.

"Give up?" I glared at him.

"You're the one who lost." He looked at me as if I was stupid.

"Huh?"

I twitched my finger and sliced his hand off so quickly he didn't even react. I picked up his severed hand as took his teigu. He looked surprised, then he looked back at his hand and he yelled in shock. He squeezed his arm with all his might and somehow managed to stop the blood. The drug must be insanely strong.

I felt the other lackeys step towards me.

"No one move! Or he won't just be losing a hand." The light glinted off the string and showed where it was.

Everywhere.

"You bastard! When did you do this?!" He yelled in anger.

"You were too cocky to notice. You stupidly showed me where all your marking are, no matter where you teleport, I will know and I will kill you."

"YOU BAST!"

"Shut up! Everyone drop your weapons!" I would kill him straight up, but as the son of the prime minister, he must know a lot. Plus if I kill him I would still have a hard time getting out of here. I could use him as a hostage and-

I felt a shocking pain in my back. I forced myself to turn around.

It was our rebel escort. I dropped Shambhala and fell to my knee's.

"Y-you…" She looked at Syura.

"Master Syura, please, I helped you, please release my parents!" He began laughing. He signaled for her to come over.

She ran towards him in hope but it was shattered.

Syura stabbed her in the stomach with a knife.

"M-master Syura…" He began laughing again and picked up his teigu.

"You retard! Your parents died a while ago! They were boring to kill. But you, you were way more entertaining, you and your stupid trust and hope." She fell onto the ground, dead and tears coming out of her eyes.

I grit my teeth and glared as hard as I could as Syura, but I couldn't move much.

"You bastard."

"Now, now, don't give me that look. You were much more entertaining, so I think I will reward you by granting you the honor to die to my trump."

"NOW DISSAPEAR!" One of his teleporting circles appeared behind me and I felt myself being sucked into what felt like fire.

I yelled in shock as the world around me changed. I found myself floating in a different dimension. It was like space yet nothing was moving, nothing was alive, it felt like I was trapped in a picture.

"NO ONE HAS EVER CAME BACK FROM THAT, NOW DIE IN THE INFINITY OF THE VOID!" I heard his voice yell.

"Like hell I'm going down like this!" I yelled back, I controlled my string to bind onto him and I started pulling. I could feel the wound in my back opening and I felt myself grow weaker.

"It doesn't matter what you do, this string is unbreakable!" I yelled, another portal opened before me and I saw him slowly being dragged into this place. I forced a smile as the portal closed.

"Why hello there." I said. He glared at me.

"You bastard!" He brought up his hand and another portal opened.

"Like hell you're getting away!" I immediately formed a spear with Cross Tail and threw it directly into his chest.

He coughed up blood and began talking. But I couldn't understand him, his voice covered by the gurgling of blood. But I did catch onto one thing.

I glared at him.

"Change the world? If I let a bastard like you change this world to your will than I don't deserve to live." I said. Cross Tail wrapped itself around his heart. I felt myself lose even more blood.

"Don't worry, Syura, I will meet you in hell." I pulled with all my might and I felt his heart getting crushed. He coughed up a huge amount of blood and the portal behind him grew bigger, becoming more chaotic as we were both sucked into it.

I found myself falling, from hundreds of feet in the air. I closed my eyes and sighed.

I took a look at cross tail, all the string was gone and it looked broken beyond repair.

My partner, we've been through a lot.

Memories began flashing across my mind and I felt regret, so much regret.

I had so much left to do, so much I haven't accomplished.

"Lady Najenda." I whispered.

I don't want to die.

I saw the tip of a building fly past me and I knew what was coming next.

Is this how everyone I killed felt?

It was at this moment.

I felt fear, true fear.

But it was only for an instant.

* * *

 **Bulat's POV**

I woke up and found myself without Incursio and tied up, on the ground. I looked around and saw that I had been captured. The sun was setting so I was out for about 3-4 hours. My eyes widened.

Where's Lubbock? I looked around and he was nowhere to be seen, nor that guy, Syura. I knelt there, wondering why I was still here and what happened to Lubbock when one of the guards yelled.

"There! Look up!" I looked up and saw someone falling. I couldn't see clearly, but he was wearing a brown cape.

My eyes widened.

"LUBBOCK!" I yelled. I saw him falling and falling, and soon enough I could see clearly, it was Lubbock.

I couldn't do anything. He fell at high speeds. I could hope but I knew it would happen.

Lubbock's going to die.

I couldn't do anything but wait for the inevitable. As he closed in on the ground. I squeezed my eyes shut.

The sound of impact, the sound of blood splatter, the feel of blood flying onto my face.

I would never be able to escape that memory.


	24. Chapter 24 - The Thunders Edge

I opened my eyes once again.

I was laying on the ground in a grassy plain. I looked around, There was nothing but grass as for as the eye can see.

" _Finally, holy shit, I thought you would never wake up."_ I heard a voice say.

I looked behind me and there floated a green orb.

"Shinatsuhiko, I thought you said I couldn't communicate with you outside the room?"

" _Hmm, technically, I've been trying to communicate with you ever since I met you, it's just that your subconscious was never focused enough to hear me call out to you, but I guess with this guy it's no wonder you can hear me now."_

Who?

" _Over here you blockhead."_ I turned around again.

A yellow diamond floated in the air at eye level.

"Are you my new Teigu?"

" _Seems like it, you managed to beat my avatar, I kind of have to listen to you now."_

I smirked.

"Don't give me that bull, you have similar personality to a certain Teigu I know, and if you are anything like him, or me, then you must've been bored to hell for a century."

"… _Kid I like the way you think. Tatsumi, is it?"_

"Yeah, looking forward to working with you…"

" _Listen and listen well, I will not ever repeat my name."_

In an instant huge, dark clouds gathered above our heads in a spiral pattern.

" _I am –"_

Multiple blue lightning bolts rained down from above, all striking the yellow diamond, which slowly turned blue, it emitted light that rivaled a star. The thunder that followed cause my body to tremble but still, I heard the Teigu loud and clear.

" _The Thunders Edge – Fenrir."_

* * *

"No way…" Mein said shocked at the news.

All of Night Raid, at least the ones still here, are all gathered in the secret base in Lubbock's bookstore.

"No doubt about it, Bulat and Lubbock got ambushed, Bulat is being publicly executed and there is a rumor that Lubbock might be dead." Leone said while gritting her teeth.

The mood was heavy and a huge decision rested on the shoulders of Night Raid.

Should they go rescue Bulat?

"… We need to go rescue Bulat." Akame said.

"Akame, you can't be serious. This is obviously a trap."

"I know that. But… Bulat is our comrade and friend, not to mention he is too strong to lose at a time like this."

…

"Also…. Tatsumi will never forgive us if we abandon Bulat now." She said.

The mood lightened a little.

"I agree, we need to get Bulat back, the time for the Revolution is near, and losing Bulat now might jeopardize the mission. Even without the mission, we still need to save him. I don't want Tatsumi hunting me down in vengeance." Leone supported with a smirk.

"Sigh, fine, I'm in." Mein said.

Najenda closed her eyes.

"Alright then, it's decided. The execution is 3 days from now. We will plan out and break in, save Bulat, and get out." She said.

Determination shone in everyone's eyes.

This mission will be, and must be a success.

* * *

" _Hey! Stop that!"_

A huge blast of wind blew the clouds away, Fenrir yelled in indignation.

" _Shinatsuhiko, the hell are you doing? It was my time to shine."_

" _Yeah, you shone alright, stop ruining my peaceful scenery with your static."_

" _STATIC?! You son of a bitch, no one makes light of my powers!"_

" _Shut up with the light puns you retard!"_

"HOW ABOUT BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP?!" I yelled in annoyance.

"I'm surprised you two don't like each other, you guys are so stupidly similar it's not even funny."

" _It's natural that we are similar, he's lightning, I'm wind. We're both elements of nature and of a storm. But this son of a bitch kept coming into my territory even before we became a stick."_

" _I was going into your territory? You were coming into my territory! I still haven't forgotten when you ate my pet!"_

" _Why would you keep a god damn sheep as a pet? It was 50 feet tall and fat as a mountain, of course I would eat it!"_

" _Billy was a nice sheep, and you killed him!"_

" _He was delicious."_

" _You motherfu-"_

"SHUT UP!" I yelled.

"Holy hell you guys have had a pretty long history together huh. Enough of that, when can I wake up? I need to head back to the Capitol before they think I'm dead, or something happens." I said.

" _You could wake up anytime you want, now that you have Fenrir, you can probably talk to us whenever you go to sleep or meditate."_

"Oh yeah, you never did explain why."

" _It's pretty simple."_ Fenrir replied.

" _I'm the teigu of lightning, unlike Shinatsuhiko who sharpens your sword, lets you fly, lets you sense your surroundings, throw long ranged attacks and lets you ride the wind, I mainly boost your physical abilities."_

" _As the teigu of lightning, I can amplify and quicken your nerve signals, which increases reaction and response time, I also stimulate your muscles allowing you to surpass your physical limit. I also have a few long ranged attacks but that's for you to figure out."_

"Alright, but I have to return to the Capitol soon."

…

" _How about this, master Fenrir within 3 days."_ I stared at the green orb with a shocked look.

"WHAT! It took me nearly 7 years to master you."

" _That's different, I'm a teigu that boosts you physically. All you have to do is get used to the movement. You can also develop these skills during battle too." Fenrir replied._

"…"

" _You know what, if you master me and my Trump card within 3 days, I will show you something."_

"Something?"

" _The Heavenly Quick-draw technique of my first wielder."_

* * *

I opened my eyes, squinting until my eyes got used to the light.

I laid on a patch of grass near the large tree.

I pushed myself up and stretched. I felt Shinatsuhiko in its normal spot, with her sheathe on my back and her handle sticking out behind my right shoulder. I looked around and spotted a sword laying near me.

I picked it up and inspected it.

It was a katana, one edged blade, around the same length as Shinatsuhiko, the handle and guard looked like that of a sword. On the very bottom of the sword, there was a yellow, pyramid shaped object sticking out.

I assumed its full form is that of a diamond.

(Picture in my profile, the picture was not by me.)

"I guess that means that Fenrir is also sentient huh?" I whispered with a smile.

"Alright, let's try this out." I said.

I picked up the sword and I felt a shock pulse through my body, but it brought no pain.

Suddenly, the world slowed and everything became so beautiful.

The colors of the grass, flowers, valley wall, the sunlight, everything became more vibrant and bright.

I could see every single movement in my surrounding, the grasses swaying under the wind, the water moving in small waves, the birds flapping their wings.

I could hear every sound, every slight rustle in the tree, every breeze and every drop of water.

I could feel every speck of dust, I could smell a mixture of dirt, water and grass, I could taste dust and remnant of blood in my mouth.

Every single detail of this world was stored in my mind as a memory.

It was at this moment, I first realized just how beautiful this world is.

I smiled.

Holding up the sword I called for a lightning bolt.

Out of the sky, a bolt of blue lightning struck down and landed on Fenrir, the crystal on the bottom of the sword turned blue and glowed.

I felt power pulsing through my veins as the blue lightning encased my sword. I brought it down to eye level, horizontal in front of my eyes.

Staring at the lightning coated Fenrir, I brought up my left hand and lightly held onto the blade.

I slid my hand from the base of the katana blade to its tip in one swift movement and the blue lightning disappeared.

In its place was a light blue katana sheathe, same color as the bolt.

I strapped the katana to my waist on my left side and smiled again.

Feeling good.

I brought my hands to my mouth and whistled. Soon, a shadow approached me.

" **You're finally awake"** Kaiser said.

"How long was I out for?"

" **Half a day, the sun should be setting in the next hour."**

"I see, alright." My eyes glowed with excitement.

I stood up and stretched.

"Kaiser, I have something to ask you."

" **What."**

I looked at it in the eye.

"The Serpent of Chaos – Leviathan and The Insurrection of the 10 gates."

For once, Kaiser gave off the feeling of surprise. It stared at me in silence, probably debating whether to tell me. Finally, it resigned.

"… **If you are to be the successor of my old Master, it's probably your destiny. Alright, I'll tell you."**

I nodded.

" **But, there's something I have to say before I tell you everything."**

"What?"

" **Leviathan is awakening."**

* * *

3 days has passed since our meeting and decision.

We were in the bookstore, waiting for the time to come.

The streets were empty, most people either went to the execution arena, or the smarter ones stayed as far away from it as possible.

"The one overseeing the execution is Budo, the chief commander of the Imperial guard. We can also suspect that Esdeath and maybe all of the Jeagars will be there."

"Wow! Sounds like a trap if I've ever heard of one." Leone said with a smirk.

Both Mein and Akame nodded in agreement.

"But this has to be done." Akame said.

Najenda looked the goggles in her hand that once belonged to a green haired idiot.

'Rest in peace, Lubbock.'

"We must succeed, we will succeed, it's time, let's go."

* * *

I stood near the peak of the mountain.

I stepped to the edge of the cliff and looked down.

I stood at the top of the world, the clouds below me and the ground even further down. I could see the Imperial Capitol from here and glared at it.

"Kaiser, we are heading to the Capitol, I get a horrible feeling in my gut that something is happening there."

" **You sure? You haven't fully maste-"** I placed my left hand on Fenrir's sheathe and the other on it's handle.

I turned towards the mountain peak and drew Fenrir from his sheathe as quickly as I could. Lightning blasted out from in front and pierced the peak.

The peak cracked and crumbled from the top down.

"… **I take back what I said. Hop on, let's get going, Young Master."**

"Young Master?"

" **Think of it as acknowledgement from me you brat, are you coming or not?"**

"I think I prefer young master." I grumbled under my breath before hopping on to Kaiser back. He stood up and flapped his strong wings, sending a few boulders flying and took off into the sky.

I willed the wind to blow towards the Capitol to increase our speed.

"I'm on my way…"

* * *

Bulat was tied to a cross in the center of the arena. To the left of him, 10 feet or so away, the Teigu – Incursio was bound to a block.

'After everything, to think this is the way it would end.' He thought.

'I hope they don't come save me. Budo and Esdeath are both here, not to mention Kurome, Wave and Run.'

Even if they come, it would end up a 5, Kurome will engage Akame, Wave will engage me, Esdeath would probably engage Susanoo and Najenda while Budo would take on both Mein and Leone and they have Run to spare. Things would be very dire if they come.

"If only Tatsumi was here…." He whispered under his breathe.

Soon, the sun reached its zenith and the young emperor stepped up to the podium overlooking the arena.

"Citizens of the Empire. Recently, there have been those whom you've feared and have caused your hearts to waver, those who spread rumors of the fall of the Empire But, there is no need to believe those preposterous claims! Here, today, I shall execute one of the organization most of you have heard of and have feared, Night Raid! They are the vanguard of the rebel's army and the ones responsible for our current chaos! They are villainous assassins whom would deceive innocents for their own benefit!"

Cheers erupted in the arena, Bulat could only close his eyes. The emperor is both young and naïve, he has no clue as to what is going on under his rule.

"Today, as a sign of what is to come, we will show the rebels army, no, the entire world, that the Empire, that this Capitol is indestructible!"

The Emperor walked back to the balcony where Esdeath, Budo, Kurome, Wave and Run stood. The Prime Minister stood by the Emperor as he sat down.

The cheers once again erupted as Esdeath began walking down towards Bulat.

Bulat looked up fearless, straight into the eyes of his executioner, his death.

Esdeath walked up and stared at him.

"Are you sure you don't want to become my subordinate? This is your last chance, as someone Liver looked upon as an equal and close comrade, I will guarantee you –"

"Spare me, if I was a coward who would beg you to be saved during my last moments, I would not only shame Liver but everyone I know as well."

"There is nothing to be ashamed of, the weak will always seek the strong for help." Bulat smirked.

"I am not one of the weak then, hurry and kill me." Esdeath sighed.

"You would've been a good subordinate, don't worry, you won't die immediately, you are the bait for the larger fish." She said before pulling out her sword.

As she swung down, a laser flew towards her. She reacted immediately and jumped back.

The crowd began screaming and started dashing to the exit, some trampled by others.

Bulat clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Why the hell did you guys come save me?!" Bulat yelled over the screams.

"I don't know!" Mein yelled back.

"Our lives will be much harder if we don't save you!" Leone said as she dropped down from the sky, creating a crater in the process.

Leone dashed towards Esdeath and threw a punch, Esdeath threw up a wall of ice that cracked under the impact, Leone growled as she jumped back to avoid a rain of ice stakes.

"Damn it, her ice is harder than steal." She whispered under her breathe.

Mein shot a laser that freed Bulat, who landed on the ground and ran to where Incursio was bound but had to stop himself and dodge a sword that sliced down.

Kurome slashed at Bulat again, who jumped back, but she didn't let up and dashed after him.

Bulat gained a few cuts to his arm and waist when a shadow dropped down from above. Kurome's eyes widened and brought up her sword to block a downward smile before smiling.

"We meet again, Onee-chan."

"Yeah, Kurome." Akame replied still pressing down on Kurome.

"This time…" Kurome began.

"I will eliminate you." They finished in unison before a flurry of slashes and clangs resounded and they disappeared from sight.

Bulat reached Incursio and released it from the ropes that bound it to the block.

"Good to be back my old friend." He whispered before he closed his eyes and snapped them open.

"INC-"

"Like hell I'll let you!" Wave yelled as he drop kicked at Bulat but was stopped by Susanoo who sent him crashing to the ground midflight.

"-URSIO!" Bulat finished as he was engulfed in light and appeared in his armor.

(Reminder - Incursio has evolved already in Chapter 9 – The Three Beasts)

He jumped back to avoid a flurry of feathers that came flying at high speeds. Wave dashed out of his crater and sent a punch at Bulat who ducked it and countered, sending Wave skidding back.

Susanoo was about to go assist when he heard Najenda drop down beside him.

"Susanoo, Bulat can handle himself, our opponent is Esdeath." He nodded in response and turned to Esdeath, who seemed to be waiting.

"Hm? So you're going to be my opponent?" Esdeath said with a smile.

"Don't bore me." Susanoo dashed forward, blade spinning and swung, but Esdeath easily blocked and swung her sword, cutting Susanoo. She frowned with a bored expression but her eyes widened when she saw Susanoo's fist.

She blocked but was sent skidding back and saw Susanoo regenerate his cut.

"Oh? A Biological Teigu in the shape of a human?" She whispered with a smirk before engaging again.

Bulat and Wave were trading fists, Bulat was obviously winning having greater experience. Leone and Mein were trying to hit Run.

Suddenly, a greyish-purple sphere appeared under the area, causing Bulat, Wave and Leone to crash down to their knee's, while Run was still in the air, albeit with a lot of effort and much lower.

The ground started shaking in waves and they all turned to look at the source.

"How dare you trample on the Empire's sacred ground!?" Budo bellowed.

"You will all pay for the sins you've committed?"

He slammed his palms together and pulled them apart slowly, a black sphere appeared in between his palms. Rocks and dust around him started swirling inside the hole.

Mein from afar stared at the sphere in shock.

'T-that's a black hole!' She desperately aimed at the whole in hopes of destroying it, but as her laser hit the sphere it also disappeared into the dense gravity sphere.

"DIE!" He yelled as the sphere left his hand.

But, instead of flying forward, it flew towards the sky.

"Too slow." Bulat said, his legs still stretched out from when he has swept Budo's legs.

He was going to follow up with a kick to gain some distance, but Budo had fallen at an unnaturally high pace and smashed into the ground, creating a crater.

"I see, your teigu causes your own gravity to be increased too huh?" Bulat said, standing upright as if the gravity barrier didn't exist.

"How?!" Budo bellowed as he pushed himself up.

"How I'm not effected? It's thanks to my partner here." Bulat said tapping on his chest.

"… Incursio evolved in order to withstand my increased gravity?" Budo whispered to himself.

"But! Don't think that's enough to beat me!" Budo yelled before withdrawing his barrier.

Bulat smirked.

"Time for round 2, and this time, you're not going to catch me off guard."

* * *

Leone faced Wave as they both stood up after being released from the gravity barrier.

Run was about to send a wave of feathers but had to dodge a laser from Mein.

Bulat dashed around Budo, avoiding punches and trying to find an opening.

Esdeath dodged and slashed at Susanoo, who regenerated and swung at Esdeath.

Akame and Kurome were blurring in and out of vision, with the only thing indicating a close fight being the sound of their swords clashing.

Far off in the distant skies, a single figure sat with his eyes closed as he spoke to the 2 minds within him.

' _You seem a bit rushed.'_ The yellow orb pulsed as it spoke.

"Yeah, I have a bad feeling."

' _You can't rush to master a teigu, it won't end well.'_

"I'm fine, I didn't rush."

" _I can testify, it's alarming how quickly you learned my abilities, but I guess it's no surprise, Shinatsuhiko's granted you perfect memory, combined with me stimulating and boosting your brain cells, it's no wonder you pick things up so fast, not to mention you have good instincts as well.'_

"Flattering me will get you nowhere."

' _Heh, cheeky brat.'_

' _I agree, but… I think it's time I fulfilled my promise.'_

"You don't have a lot of time before we reach the Capitol."

' _I only said that I will show you, whether you can pick it up is a whole different matter.'_

"Sigh, alright, how's this going to work?"

A smirk.

Chills.

" _It's simple."_

On the outside, nothing seemed wrong.

On the inside, Tatsumi laid in the middle of a plain.

Writhing from the pain of a thousand volts.


	25. Chapter 25 - Battle of the Arena Pt 1

**Hello Guys, Grills and Others – BzS here**

 **First of all, sorry for the prank last time, I was feeling in a prank-y mood and even Rick Rolled a few friends for no reason. I apologize, it was a bad joke.**

 **Secondly, I wanna make the announcement that I will be putting 'Scars and Love' on hold until I finish Blade of Tempest just because I want to finish this Fanfiction and then focus all my attention to the other.**

 **Lastly. Today's Fanfiction will be split into parts focusing on each of the battles, it will all be in third-person.**

 **Anyways, let's get started. Let the shit hit the fan.**

 **Latre!**

* * *

Bulat ducked another punch, but felt the force of the wind brushing against his head.

'I'm slowly getting the concept of his Teigu.' He thought to himself.

'It can increase the power of his punches by tenfold by utilizing an increase of gravity as momentum.'

Bulat had reached to this conclusion because the direction of Budo's punches are always angled diagonally downward.

'If that's the case, it limits his potential attacks and options.' Bulat smirked under his mask and dodged another punch, retaliating with his own. It was blocked and Bulat felt like he was trying to break through a 10 feet thick steel wall.

For a man who looked, walked, and talked like a freaking possessed rock he was stupidly agile and quick to defend. Not to mention, his increased gravity prevented him from being knocked back, knocked up, or even moved for that matter.

If it wasn't for Bulat's evolved armor this fight would've been over a while ago. Bulat jumped back and began thinking up a plan.

Bulat jumped back and pulled out his spear.

He burst forwards and stopped next to Budo, swinging the spear, but Budo grabbed the handle of the spear, stopping the edge right in front of his nose.

Bulat smirked and let go of the spear, sending a punch at Budo.

What he didn't expect, was for his body to fall to the ground.

Bulat grit his teeth as he fought against the gravity.

"H-how?" He said faintly.

"The smaller the area of increased gravity I create, the more the gravity increases by." Budo replied.

Bulat understood what was going on. Incursio had evolved to adapt to Budo's gravity, but this gravity field was several times stronger than before.

Given a few minutes, Incursio would be able to adapt to the new gravity.

But…

Budo raised his hand, a small black sphere appeared.

Bulat felt a burning pain in his stomach.

A large hole appeared in his gut as he spat out blood.

Bulat fell to the ground and laid there, face down.

He slowly closed his eyes, trying to resist the urge to drown in darkness, knowing that the moment his eyes closed, he would never open them again.

'Is this how it ends? One stupid mistake.'

An image appeared in his mind.

Tatsumi lying, seemingly dead on the floor.

Rage welled up inside his chest.

His eyes shot open just before they closed.

"INCURSIOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

Esdeath was dodging smashes from Susanoo left and right, each time returning a slash either cutting off a limb or slicing open a body part, but Susanoo did not bat an eyelash, quickly regenerating and attacking.

Esdeath was getting slightly bored.

"This is disappointing, let's end this here." She said nonchalantly. Dodging another swing and lunging forward, placing a hand on his face.

"Freeze." She pushed him back as he instantly froze.

Najenda's eyes widened as Susanoo's frozen form flew past her.

"Susanoo!" She yelled turning around.

"I respected you as a commander, is this really all you've got?" Esdeath said while waiting.

She was looking for entertainment, defeat was not even a possible outcome in her mind.

Najenda grit her teeth before extending her hand.

"Magatama Manifestation!" She yelled.

Behind her, Susanoo's necklaced glowed a golden yellow. Yellow energy flew from Najenda to Susanoo and the ice trapping Susanoo shattered.

"Susanoo! Defeat Esdeath!" Najenda yelled.

Susanoo nodded and immediately flew towards Esdeath.

His speed and strength had increased significantly, but Esdeath dodged all his attacks smoothly.

"Oh? This is your Trump card huh? Not bad, not bad at all." She said catching a punch.

"But still, this is not nearly enough to defeat me." She jump back and waved her hand, ice stakes flew towards Susanoo.

Susanoo placed his hands in front of him and a mirror appeared.

"Yata no Kagami!" The ice stakes flew right through the glowing mirror, a few moments later it came out and towards Esdeath.

Esdeath brought up an ice wall that blocked all the stakes.

"Ame no Murakumo!" A large sword appeared in Susanoo's hands as he ran at Esdeath, slicing through her ice wall with ease. Esdeath used an ice block to propel her into the sky.

"Interesting, but can you take this?" She said with a smile before snapping.

An enormous meteor made of ice appeared in the sky behind her. It flew past her as she twisted around its perimeters.

"Hagel Sprung!"

Susanoo brought up his sword and jumped towards the meteor.

The sound of the blade slicing through the air and the meteor could be heard, moments later, the meteor broke apart, falling down now as large ice chunks.

The ice chunks that fell created craters and pierced the ground, it was on the verge of cracking but still held itself together.

That is, until Susanoo landed on the ground.

Najenda nearly lost her balance as the ground shook and the floor cracked.

The floor around them fell in as debris surrounded them.

Susanoo had covered Najenda, preventing her from being pulverized by the falling concrete while Esdeath simply landed after the debris.

Susanoo pushed themselves out and stood once again facing Esdeath who wore a confident smile on her face.

"That was entertaining, but it's time we ended this."

She was about to run forward but stopped when the earth began shaking.

"What is going on?!" Najenda yelled.

Overhead a yell could be heard.

"INCURSIOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

Leone was trading punches with Wave.

In terms of speed, strength and defenses, Wave was ahead for sure.

'So why is it that I'm losing?!' Wave yelled in his mind.

Bit by bit, Wave was being pushed back, for every 3 punches he lands on Leone, he gets 4 punches back.

Wave ducked under an elbow and went for an uppercut, but Leone's knee came up to block it.

Leone used the force from his punch to do a backflip, kicking Wave up in the process.

As Wave was still in the air, Leone landed on her knees and punched him in the stomach, sending him flying back.

Leone stood up with a smirk.

Holes appeared in her stomach.

She spat up a bit of blood and turned around angrily.

Run stood in midair with his wings extended, she hurriedly dodged another barrage of feathers that created craters in the ground.

He stopped and flew back, dodging a laser before sending a barrage at Mein, who stood in the stands.

Mein shot another laser destroying the feathers, the laser continued on and shot through one of Run's wings.

His altitude decreased as he fell but his wings regenerated. He had an angry look in his eyes before swooping down near the ground and flying at Mein.

Wave had already recovered and dropped kicked Leone.

She grit her teeth upon receiving the impact with her arms, but it broke through her defenses and landed right in her gut.

She spat up more blood as she felt her back impact the ground, creating a large crater before punching Wave off of her and back flipping to a safe distance.

"That hurt!" She yelled. The holes in her stomach were not fully regenerated yet so the kick had hurt much more than normal.

Her eyes narrowed, Grand Chariot was extremely similar to Incursio, and even more so now that Incursio had evolved. They had similar speed and strength, and as someone who often trained with Bulat, she could read his movements, but still.

The power is nothing to laugh at.

Overhead, Run was dodging laser after laser while Mein was shooting down feathers, occasionally forced to jump down a few steps and ledges to avoid damage.

Leone brought her concentration back onto Wave, jumping back to avoid a punch.

Their fists clashed once more before they stopped and turned their attention to another source.

A yell that resonated through the arena.

"INCURSIOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

Akame swung her sword at Kurome's feet, but she dodged by flipping over her and attempting a reverse stab at Akame's back. It failed as years of fighting and built up sense of danger had saved Akame once again.

They were seemingly at a standstill, but to them it was clear who was going to win.

Akame was older making her physically stronger, not to mention Murasame gave her an obvious advantage.

Which is why.

"Onee-chan, have you ever heard of the 4 Rakshasa Demons?" Kurome said as she smiled at Akame from 10 feet away.

"…Yeah." Akame heard that recently, the Revolutionary Army had employed them in order to assassinate Bolic of the Path of Peace. It was originally supposed to be Night Raid's job, but it happened around the time that Hayami appeared and they were assigned to that instead.

"Well, the Jaegers were assigned to eliminate them and protect Bolic, but he was a moron. He ran away from us and got himself killed. But that doesn't matter, look who I've got here." She said as she raised her sword and 2 bolts of black lightning arced to the ground.

The ground cracked and 4 shadows crawled up.

The first was a tall and bulky man, he had a large black beard and bald head except behind his ears. His shirt was ripped and showed his chest.

The second was a dark skinned girl, she was scantily clad with bikini's around her chest and her shirt hanging from her arms. Her hair was blonde and tied in a ponytail.

The third was a tall and skinny looking man, he had blue hair that split like a curtain showing his forehead. He has multiple markings on his body and face that resembles stitches.

The fourth and last was a girl with black hair. She wore a loose shrine maiden outfit, showing parts of her cleavage and being held closed by a breast guard.

Akame's eyes widened as she had seen their pictures.

The infamous Mercenary group, the 4 Rakshasa demons.

"Here we go Onee-chan."

A yell echoed through the air yet fell deaf to Akame's ears.

* * *

Power pulsed through Bulat's veins as he pushed himself up and stabbed Incursio into the ground.

The huge blast of energy was enough to push Budo back, leaving a trail in the ground.

Behind Bulat, an image of the Tyrant appeared, its eyes glowed red and its jaws opened wider releasing a piercing roar.

It brought its hands around Bulat as he yelled out his wish.

"GIVE ME POWER TO DESTROY THIS UNJUST EMPIRE!"

The light, image, energy all disappeared in that instant leaving only dust.

* * *

Akame ducked under a barrage of nails, jumped over a wave of gooey liquid, side-stepped a charge and blocked a series of punches with her sword.

She grit her teeth. She knew she was stronger than any one of them, she may be able to take on 2 or 3 of them at once, but 4 of them at the same time with Kurome on the side-lines ready to attack anytime…

She stopped her thought, side stepping another charge from the Sten. She swung her sword as he charged past but he gained a large cut down his side, but the curse didn't activate.

She immediately leaned back to dodge a punch from Mez, feeling the air pressure. Using that motion she did a back flip, kicking Ibara under the chin as he appeared in front of her.

Ibara flew up, his head bent at an unnatural 90 degree's angle looking upwards. Akame landed on her knees and sliced at Ibara's knees, but Suzuka appeared and blocked her sword with her left hand, punching with her right.

Akame brought up her arm to block and flew backwards, skidding to a stop before jumping up to avoid Sten again.

Akame was slightly sweating now.

'I need a plan.' She thought when her eyes widened. She turned around and barely blocked a slash from Kurome.

"You're wide open, Onee-chan." Mez appeared next to Akame.

Years of battling once again saved Akame.

She tilted her sword in that instant, her knee's bend and she leaned back. Kurome's blade slid up and right over Akame's head as she fell on her upper-back with her knees still under her. Mez's fist flew right past and Kurome lost her footing. Akame twisted her body, ignoring the pain in her knee's as she bent them in a way they shouldn't be bent and slashed at Kurome.

Kurome was falling on top of Akame and had no way of dodging.

"Eliminate." Akame whispered with sad eyes.

Her blade inched towards Kurome's body.

She disappeared.

Instead, her blade sliced right through Ibara's neck.

Her eyes widened and she quickly pushed herself up and sliced off Ibara's limbs. She flipping over Sten, and blocked a punch from Suzuka which sent her flying back but she easily landed.

'What happened?' She looked around and saw Kurome standing a bit away, dust all over her.

Kurome smiled.

"Too bad."

Akame realized what had happened.

"You made Ibara punch you away from me." Kurome giggled.

"As expected of my sister! You figured it out rather quickly, but are you sure you have the time to be thinking about this." Akame felt a presence behind her and leaned forward, at the same time, she loosened her grip on the sword and let it fall into a reverse grip.

A punch flew overhead from Mez.

Akame's sword pierced her stomach.

She fell onto Akame's back and then onto the ground. She then proceeded to lose her limbs.

"You underestimated me." Akame said in her monotone voice.

'2 more to go.' She thought, Sten came barreling towards her again.

Akame narrowed her eyes, something feels different somehow. She brought up her sword and concentrated.

Sten stopped running around 10 feet from her and leaped at her, his beard in a point.

'Too bad.'

Akame's sword met his beard and slid right under, his head tilting up exposing his neck.

His head fell to the ground with a thump, quickly followed by his arms and legs.

Akame's perfect parry. No matter how great the force or how sharp the object, they would not be able to touch her.

Suzuka was the last puppet standing.

Akame appeared next to her in blink and sliced off one arm.

That was the one and only mistake Akame made in this entire fight.

Suzuka retaliated with a punch at extremely high speeds and hit Akame in the shoulders.

It was not fatal, nor did it do a lot of damage, but it was enough to matter.

Akame sliced off her limbs and she fell to the ground.

She turned around and stared at Kurome.

"Let's end this." Kurome giggled.

"Sure!"

Kurome appeared in front of Akame and her eyes widened.

'She got faster?!' She thought as she blocked her slash.

'Wait, no, I've gotten slower?'

"Come on Onee-chan, was that enough to make you tired?" Kurome giggled.

It's true that she was tired from the fight, but this usually wouldn't matter. Her body would automatically ignore exhaustion and it would hit her later on when she relaxes.

'Did that last punch do something to me?'

Her arms felt heavier than before, her reaction time was a little slower, her legs couldn't move as fast.

Her abilities have been lowered to Kurome's level, maybe even worse.

Sweat formed on her forehead as she did her best to concentrate.

Once again, their swords clashed and the sparks fell to the ground.

* * *

Bulat felt power coursing through his veins.

His armor now was much skinnier and the body and legs were now skinnier and with more breaks in the armor. The once out of place helmet and arms now looked like they finally found their old body.

If one were to describe him it would be.

A humanoid dragon.

* * *

 **Authors Note – So I know that some of you are confused as to what is going on with Bulat's armor so this little section is to clarify.**

In Chapter 9 – The Three Beasts, at the very end, due to Tatsumi pretending to die, Bulat evolved his armor out of sheer rage. But instead of the 'second form of Incursio' as depicted in the manga, Bulat's evolution was only his arms and helmet that changed while everything else stayed the same. He gained a speed boost, strength boost, and adaptability boost.

Now in this chapter, he fully evolved into the 'second form of Incursio' as depicted in the manga.

TL;DR – I split the evolution into 2 steps, the first was in Chapter 9 and the second one is right now.

 **Sorry for the interruption, this has been a public service announcement, we will return to the regularly (not really) scheduled (definitely not) program.**

* * *

Najenda and Susanoo were distracted for an instant from Bulat's yell.

That instant was more than enough.

"Die." Susanoo reacted just in time to move his body, but the sword of ice pierced his arm.

He felt his arm get incased with ice.

"Oh? Your reactions are impressive."

"Susanoo!" Najenda yelled in worry. Susanoo has regenerative abilities, but his frozen arm isn't damaged.

"You were quite entertaining, but what can you do now that you lost an arm?"

"Hmph, you seem to forget who I am." Susanoo said as he brought up his other fist and shattered his own arm.

Najenda widened her eyes and Esdeath smirked.

"Come!"

Once again they engaged each other, but it was obvious that Susanoo was going to lose.

Before his left arm regenerated, his right arm froze and was shattered.

His trump card time limit is almost up too.

Najenda couldn't join in, she would only get in the way. She grit her teeth, wracking her brain for a way she could win.

But she was too slow.

Esdeath and Susanoo stared each other down.

Susanoo brought up his sword and Esdeath dashed forward.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Susanoo yelled as he swung his sword.

Esdeath made no attempt to block it nor dodge.

But the smirk on her face already gave it away.

Susanoo's sword went right through her.

It disintegrated before it hit her.

Susanoo's eyes closed.

Esdeath's sword stabbed through him and he was quickly encased in ice.

A single kick shattered his body.

"SUSANOO!" Najenda yelled.

His core fell to the ground and broke to pieces.

"NOT YET, SUSANOO!" Najenda yelled as she prepared to sacrifice her life by activating Susanoo's trump again.

But…

Esdeath stared at Susanoo's core expectantly, but nothing happened.

Najenda fell to her knees.

"Why?" She whispered.

"Susanoo…"

Esdeath began walking to her.

"That was anti-climactic, why didn't you activate your trump again? Or is it that you couldn't?" She said stepping in front of her.

"Either way, it wouldn't have mattered." She raised her sword but stopped.

Her eyes narrowed and looked up.

Najenda followed her gaze.

A huge black sphere floated in midair.

* * *

Budo stared into the smoke cloud with an unwavering gaze, sure that Bulat was dead or still unable to move from his attack.

That is, until he was smacked to the left like a 12 year old kid.

Budo landed on his back and pushed himself up with great effort, in the place where he was previously standing, 2 eyes stared into his soul.

Both his eyes had a plus in them, Budo felt himself shiver, as those were not the eyes of a human.

Those were the eyes of the Tyrant.

Bulat disappeared.

Budo quickly set up his gravity barrier.

"I don't know what you did, but you still won't be able to withstand my – "

He was forcefully stopped when spear went through his stomach.

He violently coughed up blood and grit his teeth, trying to ignore the pain.

"You are no match for me right now." Bulat said as he stared into Budo's eyes.

Budo's eyes widened in anger.

"… I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS!" A large shockwave of power pulsed from Budo and something unexpected happened.

Budo flew.

It wasn't as much flying as just levitating above the ground and slowly ascending.

After a few moments, he was a hundred feet about ground and overlooking the entire arena.

His hands were above his head.

"YAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He yelled as a black sphere appeared above his head and steadily grew in size.

Mein, Run, Wave, Leone, Esdeath and Najenda all stopped and looked.

"He reversed gravity to allow himself to fly huh?" Bulat said. He picked up his spear and spun it a few times before throwing it at Budo.

It went straight through him with no resistance, yet he kept yelling as if nothing had happened.

Bulat's eyes widened, unable to believe anyone could remain concentrated after getting 2 spears through the stomach.

Mein clicked her tongue and pointed pumpkin at Budo.

"LIKE HELL I'M DYING HERE!" She yelled and a huge amount of energy began gathering inside pumpkin.

"DISSAPEAR!" Budo's voice thundered as the black hole shot down.

"NEVER!" A huge energy beam shot out of Pumpkin that push Mein back but she held firm.

The beam of spiritual energy met the black hole.

A huge shockwave pulsed from them and kicked up dust that covered the entire arena.

In the midst of the dust, Bulat caught a single blur and his eyes widened.

He kicked off in the direction of Mein.

The energy disappeared into the endless darkness.

The darkness cracked.

The beam slowly thinned and disappeared.

The black hole shattered.

Mein collapsed on her knees and panted. She looked at pumpkin.

It was cracked and smoking.

"Thank you…" She whispered.

Blood spurt into the air and her arm fell to the ground.

She screamed in pain and fell face first onto the ground.

"MEIN!" Bulat yelled, appearing in front of her and blocking the rest of the feathers.

Run narrowed his eyes but backed off, flying back into the air.

Bulat looked at his new armor, with his claws he couldn't give her first aid. If he took off his armor for even a moment, he might die. He grit his teeth as he thought about what to do.

His eyes widened when he felt energy behind his back and he looked up again.

A large black sphere.

"SHIT!" He yelled.

"Are you serious?!" Leone yelled.

Najenda looked up hopelessly, her eyes filled with despair.

"DISSAPEAR!" Budo thundered.

His arms came down in a motion to throw the black hole at the arena.

A blur shot past his body.

His body split in half and the black hole dissipated.

The blur continued falling downward.

Esdeath narrowed her eyes as the blur, her eyes widened when she realized who it was.

She quickly swung down at Najenda.

But it was too late.

A green arc forced her to jump back as the green blur impacted to ground right in front of Najenda.

Esdeath smiled with a rare, soft expression.

"I wanted to see you again…"

A pair of piercing green eyes stared back.

"Tatsumi."


	26. Chapter 26 - Battle of the Arena Pt 2

Tatsumi stood up from his knees and dashed forwards.

Esdeath ducked under his slash and slashed at him with her frozen sword but he jumped right over it.

In mid-air, he sent a blade at her and it was dodged by a backflip. Esdeath waved her can and multiple ice stakes flew towards Tatsumi.

Tatsumi landed on the ground and swiped his hand as if batting away something. The ice stakes were blown away like snow.

Tatsumi stared at her and looked behind him. Najenda was still sitting on the ground with a shocked look.

Tatsumi wordlessly turned back to Esdeath, who stood as if waiting for him. He spun his sword a few times and sheathed it smoothly.

He placed his land on the handle strapped to his left waist.

Esdeath's eyes widened and quickly put up multiple ice walls while jumping back, but it was too late.

Tatsumi drew and a bolt of lightning, shot out and right through the ice walls. She twisted her body and it managed to only get a scratch, but it was more than enough to be effective. She fell down hard and laid on the ground, her entire body numb.

Her eyes widened as she tried to move her body but ultimately failed to do so.

Tatsumi quickly sheathed his katana and turned around. He flung Najenda onto his shoulder and flew out from the crater, landing and dropping her near the edge of the arena.

"Boss, I will gather everyone, be ready to leave." He said.

"Tatsumi…" Najenda was still having trouble comprehending that he was still alive, but shook her head and decided to save the questions for later. "Got it."

Tatsumi nodded. He brought his hand to his mouth and whistled. He placed left hand on the handle of Fenrir and dashed towards Leone and Wave's battle.

Wave and Leone had started trading fists and blows. They dashed towards each other, both bringing up their fists to punch when Tatsumi, appeared next to them. Their eyes traveled to Tatsumi whose fist was already traveling towards Wave.

Wave flew back, bounced off the ground twice creating indents before crashing into the arena wall, blowing a hole in it. Leone looked at Tatsumi in shock.

"T-Tatsumi?!" She yelled in shock. Tatsumi smirked.

"Yeah, I'm back." He said. Leone smiled widely. His eyes became serious.

"Mein is in the stands, her arm was cut off and Bulat can't stop it without risking their lives, if you go and slow the blood we might be able to save her." Leone nodded seriously.

"How are we going to get back? The beast we came on is dead." He smirked.

"The ride is here." Just as he said it, a large shadow swooped down, kicking up dust and landed between Leone and Najenda.

Leone and Najenda were beyond shocked.

"The hell is that?!" Leone yelled. He smiled.

"My partner and pet."

" **Who the hell are you calling a pet you little brat?!"** Kaiser roared.

"IT CAN TALK?!" Leone yelled with her jaw on the ground.

"Pick up your jaw and go help Mein!" He ordered.

Run realized that Kaiser was their way out and threw barrages of feathers at Kaiser.

The feathers reached Kaiser in a blink of an eye, but they were blown away with a flap of a wing.

" **This is really sad, to think this is the level of Teigu wielders today."** He said.

Tatsumi looked around and saw Bulat was already with Leone, carrying Mein down. Bulat was looking at him with a smile and he nodded.

Tatsumi turned towards the last person.

To normal people, the only time they were visible was when they clashed, and it was only a blink of an eye. To experienced fighters, they were blurs that fought at an incredible pace. To Tatsumi, they were clear and he could see every move.

He dashed forward again, appearing next to Kurome. Unlike Wave and Leone, they didn't falter, their entire vision focused on their opponent.

He spun on his heels and dug his led into Kurome's stomach, her eyes widened and blood came out of her mouth as she flew back at incredible speeds.

"Kurome!" Wave yelled as he jumped behind her and caught her, but the momentum was enough to send them flying into the wall again.

Akame turned to me angrily.

"What do yo-" She stopped.

Tatsumi smiled at her.

"Hey…" He said. Her eyes widened.

"Tatsumi?" He nodded.

"One and only." He whispered.

The world around them fell silent for a second. They stared into each other's eyes, shutting everything else out.

That is, until Tatsumi swiped his hands and a tornado enveloped them, blocking multiple feathers.

"Time to go." He said. She frowned.

"But Kurome-" He frowned back.

"There will be other chances, we have to leave, Mein's life is in danger." She hesitated but nodded.

Tatsumi smiled and pointed at Kaiser.

"He's my partner, don't ask questions and get on." She nodded and they blurred back to Kaiser.

Everyone was already on including the bleeding Mein.

"We managed to slow the blood but that last move nearly tore her arms off, we need to get back fast." Leone said. Tatsumi nodded.

"Kaiser, take them back, Esdeath has recovered and is coming." He said after Akame hopped on.

Just as he said it, stairs of ice shot up from the crater.

Akame narrowed her eyes.

"What about you?" She said almost threateningly. He smiled confidently.

"Someone's got to hold them off." She frowned before jumping off.

It was his turn to narrow his eyes.

"What are you doing?" He asked. She looked right into his eyes.

"I left you once, I won't leave you again." They stared at each other as Esdeath's footsteps ringed through the arena.

He sighed.

"Alright." He turned to the others.

"Don't worry, I will keep Akame safe and we will be back." He said with confidence filling his voice leaving no room for argument. Najenda hesitated but nodded.

"Alright, I entrust this to your hands, come back safely." Tatsumi nodded and Kaiser flapped his mighty wings and took off into the sky.

"Oh ho? That's a danger beast I've never seen before." Tatsumi heard.

Esdeath stepped up onto the floor from her stairs. Wave and Kurome appeared next to her while Run flew above them.

"Akame." He said to get her attention, she turned to him.

"Leave this to me." He said. She was about to protest when he put up his hands. He tapped his left hand on the handle of Fenrir before smiling. Her eyes widened.

She understood, memories of Hayami flashed through her mind. She nodded in consent.

If Tatsumi had gained those powers, she would only be in the way.

Tatsumi narrowed his eyes at the Jaegers.

"Run, chase after those who escaped." Esdeath ordered. Run nodded and took off at high speeds.

Just as he flew past Tatsumi and Akame, his eyes widened.

"You have a lot of nerve, looking away in a fight." He couldn't even react before a force to his gut caused his ribs to break and blood fly out of his mouth. He flew back down towards the Jaegers faster than he could fly, a green blade of wind chasing right after him, ready to split him in half upon him impacting the ground.

He was saved by a ramp of ice created by Esdeath that diverted his position and softened his impact, the wind blade flew past him and created a huge scar in the ground.

Tatsumi narrowed his eyes. He shouldn't have spoken, that instant it took to speak allowed Esdeath to react fast enough to create that ramp.

He landed back onto the ground.

Akame was shocked. She barely saw Tatsumi move, and only realized he was gone when she saw her appear next to Run.

She smiled a bit, memories of Tatsumi flashed through her mind.

'He's grown so strong.' She thought with a warm smile. But her eyes widened when Kurome appeared in front of her with her sword ready to swing.

Kurome had taken that moment she spaced out to appear right in front of her.

"See you, Onee-chan." Kurome said with her eyes half closed and full of bloodlust.

But she didn't get the chance to swing.

Her legs were swept from under her and an elbow flied towards her gut, she managed to bring up her arms this time but still flew back, flipping in the air and skidding to a stop on her feet. She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

Tatsumi immediately ducked a punch from Wave, and then swiped his hands, diverting the ice stakes that was aimed at him towards Wave. Wave was hit by a wave of ice casing his armor to crack in multiple spots back still kept his posture and kicked Tatsumi's legs from under him.

Esdeath appeared next to him and swung down on Tatsumi's horizontal body. But Tatsumi stopped in midair, laying there as if it there was a floor beneath him and brought up Shinatsuhiko to block the strike.

He forced Esdeath blade up and then flew horizontally outside of their range and started spiraling like a drill. He came to a stop, and flew towards Esdeath and Wave like a drill, Esdeath managed to dodge but Wave was barely able to get out.

A chunk of his armor around the stomach area was gone and his stomach was bleeding.

They jumped back and so did Tatsumi.

Tatsumi patiently waited for them to recover. To him, this was not a battle to the death, more like a test of his abilities. He was by no means underestimating them, but it was obvious that he was stronger than them.

Why?

He still hasn't drawn Fenrir.

He had fought the 3 of them to a standstill, it can be said he even won, by only relying on his boosted physical abilities and Shinatsuhiko.

But…

"Time to get serious." He whispered to himself.

Run had rejoined them and they were already in battle stance, waiting for him to engage them.

And engage he will.

With his left hand on Fenrir's handle, he slowly drew it out as bolts of lightning flew from the blade to the ground and he held it in a reverse grip.

"Here I come." He said before disappearing in a flash of yellow, immediately appearing behind Wave.

Wave was completely caught off guard, but Esdeath's quick reactions saved him, a block of ice pushed wave out of the way as he sliced down with Shinatsuhiko, cutting through it like it wasn't even there.

Kurome appeared to his right swinging diagonally up at him, but he blocked with Fenrir and immediately swung at her with Shinatsuhiko. She ducked but a few strands of hair were cut off.

His swing didn't end there, it continued and he used that motion to send a blade of wind at Esdeath who appeared blurred into existence right in its path. Her eyes widened but managed to minimalize the damage to a cut on her arm.

As the wind slash left his sword, he pushed hard of Kurome who tried to push back but Tatsumi jumped back and she lost her footing, falling forward and was forced to block a drop kick from Wave, which was initially aimed at Tatsumi. Wave was then bombarded by feathers that barely stabbed through his armor, leaving light punctures in his body. Wave yelled in pain and fell to his knees but grit his teeth and endured it.

Run looked at what had happened in shock.

Kurome skid back a few feet and fell on her knees while Wave stood back up. Tatsumi appeared next to Wave and pierced his leg with Fenrir.

1000 volts of electricity flowed through Wave as he screamed in pain. He fell the ground numb.

"That idiot!" Kurome yelled.

Tatsumi appeared in front of Kurome as her eyes widened. She was distracted for a second by Wave.

Tatsumi brought up his sword and a tornado engulfed Tatsumi, blowing away a rain of feathers.

Run dropped down right beside Tatsumi, his wing extended in a blink of an eye and flew towards Tatsumi's head.

Run smiled. There was no way a human can dodge th-

"Too bad."

Tatsumi's head was already tilted back as if he knew where it was going.

Run's smile turned into a horrified look.

That horrified look was etched onto his face as his head flew off of his neck.

The world turned black and white for Kurome as her head began to throb at the sight of her comrade's blood spewing from the stub that his head was once placed on.

She fell down to both knees and held her head, trying to stop the throbbing and pain but it would not subside.

She slowly lost consciousness, the effects of her drugs wearing off.

Wave was lying face down on the ground but still conscious.

"R-Run…" He tried to yell but his voice would not go above a whisper. He desperately struggled to stand up and avenge his comrade's death but his body would not respond. The sadness was the final toll that his mind could not take. He slowly fell into darkness.

Tatsumi noticed Esdeath had not moved in a while and felt it was off. Energy started building up within Tatsumi.

"Bring it." Tatsumi provoked. Esdeath smiled.

"You have grown Tatsumi, it was entertaining but this is where it ends." Her mouths moved and Tatsumi released the energy within him.

"Makahadoma!"

* * *

Everything was enveloped in gray. Every object and essence was frozen in time.

Everything except Esdeath.

She walked up to Tatsumi, producing an ice sword on the way.

"Originally, this trump card of mine was developed to keep you from leaving me again." She said to him.

"But to think it would be used so that we will never meet again, it is quite sad isn't it? But there's nothing I can do about it. If you want to blame it on anyone, blame it on yourself and this cruel world where the law is that the strong live and the weak die. You were weaker, Tatsumi." She said as she stabbed Tatsumi right in the heart.

It went straight through without resistance. Her eyes widened.

Why? She didn't understand why Tatsumi couldn't be killed.

She frowned trying to figure it out, but then smiled.

"Looks like you're not weaker, I guess I have to retreat, but one day Tatsumi." She brought her head close to Tatsumi's ears.

"You will belong to me."

* * *

One moment they were there, scattered on the ground, dead or unconscious.

The next moment, they were gone, nowhere in sight.

Akame was confused, she had no idea what had happened.

Tatsumi began walking back and stopped in front of her.

"What happened?" Akame asked.

"I'm assuming due to the nature of Esdeath, she froze time with her teigu." Tatsumi responded nonchalantly.

She tilted her head and her eyes widened.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" She started asking but Tatsumi stopped her by placing a finger on her lips.

"Of course, nothing happened to me." He responded with a smile.

"How? Why would Esdeath let us off alive?" His smile changed to a smirk.

"Oh she tried to kill me alright, but I didn't let her."

"How?"

"It's a s-e-c-r-e-t." He said with a laugh.

Akame pouted and stared at him with deadpan eyes.

Tatsumi's heart skipped a beat.

'That was so cute.' He thought.

"I only caught a glimpse of what had happened. Esdeath tried to stab me, but it didn't work out for her, she then picked up the other two and the corpse before walking off. As for why she didn't kill you, she probably forgot or something." Akame looked back with a deadpan again.

"Do you think the Capitals number 1 would forget to kill someone like me?"

He shrugged.

"I kind of stole the spotlight, I mean, I doubt she paid any attention to you with me here."

For some reason, that didn't sit well with Akame.

"She's not getting you." She said. Tatsumi tilted his head.

"What?" She shook her head.

"Never mind, let's go home." Tatsumi nodded.

"Alright, I'll tell you everything that happened along the way."

They started walking when Akame realized something.

"How are we going to go back? We will have to fight our way out of the city." Tatsumi stopped.

"Good point…" He whispered to himself when a lightbulb went off in his head.

He smiled mischievously.

"Akame." She turned around.

He walked up to her, placed one hand under her knees, another behind her back and lifted her up.

She was surprised and but managed to stop herself from making a weird sound.

She couldn't stop blood from rushing to her head.

"T-Tatsumi, what are you doing?!" She half yelled.

"This is faster and more efficient." He said with a smile before he jumped and flew up to the edge of the arena, looking out onto the ocean of building.

"But doesn't this tire you out?"

"I found out a way to improve my flying." She tilted her head.

Tatsumi jumped forward and landed.

On air.

He used air as a step to jump again.

Akame was baffled.

"How?" She asked.

"Hmm, how do I explain this? I guess you could say it's another form of my 'riding the wind'. Before, I used it as a way to make me faster, but now that's unnecessary. In its place I developed this technique so that I could utilize my new found speed even in midair. As for how I do this, Kaiser told me about an Ultra Class Danger Beast in the past that had the ability to step on air. I used that as reference and visualized the air as a platform."

She nodded.

"…You've grown so powerful." She said shyly.

Tatsumi smiled.

"I have to if I want to protect you." He said back.

She blushed.

"C-can you show me how fast you can go?" She said in an attempt to hide her embarrassment.

"Sure, prepare yourself."

He stopped and stood in midair before bending his knee and he shot upwards.

He abruptly stopped, as if he landed on the ground, bending his knee's to absorb the impact and using that force to shoot downward diagonally.

Akame felt like she was traveling through time or something. She was getting a bit of tunnel vision.

The air that rushed past them was cold and because of that, they could feel the warmth radiating from each other.

Tatsumi shot down to earth like a meteor and landed on the ground, kicking up a large dust cloud and creating a crater.

"So? How'd you like the ride?" He said as he placed her on her feet again.

"That was intense." She replied. Tatsumi laughed.

"Glad you liked it. Let's start walking, we don't want the others to worry too much."

"… Do you think Mein will live?" Tatsumi nodded.

"She should be fine, though her arm was cut off, Leone should have slowed the blood. I've instructed Kaiser to take them back to the HQ for treatment and they should have gotten their by the time our battle ended."

Her eyes widened.

"Is it that fast?" I smirked.

"Kaiser, despite being rather small, is considered an Ultra Class Danger Beast. Plus it is intelligent and has years of experience. At his max speed, he might be able to fly around the world in under a day."

Akame nodded.

A wave of relief hit her and her knee's gave out, but she fell into Tatsumi's arms.

"You okay?" She nodded.

"Yeah, sorry, I feel so relieved." He smiled.

"Want me to carry you again?" She looked away but nodded. Tatsumi smiled and picked her up.

"Do you want me to tell you what happened after the battle with Hayami?" He asked softly as he began walking.

She nodded.

"Let's see, where should I begin?"

* * *

 **Authors Notes –**

Ok, if you have a hard time imagining what I mean by jumping on air. There are a few examples.

Imaging Naruto's tree to tree jumping, just instead of tree's, it's air.

Or if you've seen Fate/Illya, Miyu's way of flying is basically what I was going for.

* * *

 **On a separate note, I realized something today about my writing habits.**

 **I like to hit enter.**

 **My enter key fell off from writing these 2 chapters.**

 **XD**


	27. Chapter 27 - Confession

The trees around us rustled and birds were chirping, a great background as I told Akame what had happened after the battle with Hayami.

"After you left, I lost the battle and basically died." I told her, her eyes widened but she stayed silent.

"The only reason I lived was because I accidentally used my new trump card, it was a gamble and I didn't even know what it would do to me, but somehow it worked out and I survived her last blow." I said.

"After Hayami left, as I was unconscious, Kaiser came and picked me up and revived me. After that, the 2 weeks afterwards I spent recovering and training." I summarized.

"Revived you? How?" I smiled.

"I will tell you soon, or better, you will see soon." I told her.

I walked with her in my arms, there was a peaceful silent between us.

"Akame, did… Did Yoshiro live?" I broke the silence with the question that needed to be asked.

"…" She was silent, but she shook her head.

"…" I stopped walking and closed my eyes.

"Did Yoshiro tell you anything before he died?" I asked.

Once again, she shook her head.

"I asked and asked, why he didn't come with me, what he did in the Capital, why he helped us." She said, I could sense her voice trembling.

"All he did was smile and closed his eyes. He died on the danger beast." She whispered.

I grit my teeth.

"That lazy, good for nothing, cowardly bastard!" I silently yelled.

"…" I calmed myself.

"Neh Akame, do you know why he stayed in the Capital?" I asked. She shook her head.

"If I did… I wouldn't have asked." She whispered.

I sighed and continued walking.

"I got to know Yoshiro over the 2 months I was gone. After helping me infiltrate, I helped him with some of his missions and he even helped me train." I said.

"But, he's a strong and cunning guy. I could tell in his eyes, he had something to protect, something precious. But at the same time, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't figure out who or what."

"But… I could infer, from his personality and his actions, the person he wanted to protect… was you." Her eyes widened again.

"It's simple, he didn't come with you so that he could protect you from the inside, to help you from the inside, to save you from the shadows. If that's the reason, then why he tested me, why he helped me, why he helped the revolutionary army, it would make sense."

Akame was silent.

"He devoted his life to help and protect you."

Her vision became blurry.

"Maybe that's why…"

She could feel anger welling up inside.

"Maybe that's why…"

She could feel sadness welling up inside.

"Maybe that's why…"

She could feel tears welling up inside.

"Maybe that's why…

I got along with him so well."

…

Just like that, we walked in silence all the way back to base.

* * *

We were all alone at the base, it seems like the others haven't returned yet.

I'm guessing they won't be back until tomorrow.

I cooked up some meat for dinner.

"I'm… not hungry…" She replied.

I closed my eyes and went outside.

The sun had already set and the sky was sparkling.

I stared up at the night sky, lost in thought.

"This is bad…" I whispered to myself. Akame losing her appetite? Is that even possible?

Then again, Yoshiro was her close friend that she misunderstood for years.

I sighed.

"What should I do?"

I shook my head and went back in. I needed to cheer her up somehow.

I looked around trying to find Akame, she wasn't in the house.

I went outside again and 'saw' her on the roof.

She sat on the roof, staring up at the night sky.

"Akame…" I said landing beside her.

"…" She was silent, but she turned her head towards me.

I stared right into her eyes.

Those eyes that always glistened with life and care were now dulled with pain and regret.

I could sense that she might be on the verge of breaking down.

I sat down beside her and pulled her into a hug.

Her eyes widened.

I know that it was odd, I know that it was too sudden, I know there is supposed to be a mood requirement or whatever.

But… words cannot express what I want to convey to her.

How can I comfort her with words?

How can I ease her with words?

How can I fill in that hole in her heart with words?

I can't…

So…

"This is all I can do…"

She closed her eyes.

Just like that, we fell asleep on the roof.

* * *

I woke up when I felt sunlight hit my eye lids. I yawned and stretched before rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

I was still sitting on the rooftop with Akame in my embrace.

I looked down at her and smiled a bit, but I shook her awake.

"Akame, it's morning." I whispered.

She slowly opened her eyes without protesting and sat up.

She looked at me a little confused.

"Ah." She said before blushing a bit. I smiled before jumping down, she followed right after and we went inside.

I made a huge breakfast which she finished before I even began. Her devouring speed never fails to amaze me, even with my boosted senses I could only get a glimpse of her shoving food into her mouth.

It's a good thing she's back to normal.

Speaking of senses.

"Akame, in about 5 minutes the other will be returning." I said.

"How do you know?" She asked with her head tilted.

I tapped my forehead.

"Eye of the storm remember?" But she still had a questioning gaze.

"I thought that dragon can fly around the world in under a day? If he's that fast, how far can you sense?"

"Let's see… if I focus in one direction, up to 100 miles. If in all directions, up to 10 miles if I focus. If I don't focus, like in the midst of a battle, up to 1 mile." She nodded.

"That makes sense, can you see who's on his back?" I nodded.

"Let's see, everyone but Mein." Her eyes widened and she stood up really quickly, knocking her chair back.

"Do you think she di-" I stopped her right there.

"No, I don't think she died, it's logical that they would leave her at base. She lost an arm, and it's possible that pumpkin is broken or destroyed. Without an arm, she can't wield pumpkin even if it's working, and her body type is not fit for any other battle oriented teigu. In other words, they left her at base for her own safety." I reasoned.

She seemed to have calmed down a bit with that and sat back down.

"Ah, I they're here." I said before walking to the door.

I turned back and smiled at her.

"You coming?" She smiled back.

"Yeah."

* * *

As we stepped out of the base, Kaiser landed on the ground and the others jumped off its back.

"Tatsumi!" Leone yelled as she pulled me into a hug.

"I'm so glad your alive! Were you lonely without your nee-san?" I couldn't reply since I was suffocating. Suddenly, the air around us dropped a few degree's and we all started shivering.

"A-Akame, calm down." Leone said with a forced smile as she let me go.

"Tatsumi, you've grown since 2 weeks ago." Bulat said looking at me, I smirked.

"Of course, I didn't disappear for another 2 weeks for nothing."

"You're going to have to explain yourself on that one." Najenda said with a slight glare.

I turned to Kaiser.

"Any problems at the HQ?" He snorted.

" **If you count some 200 guns and 4 teigu users jumping at me as a problem, then yeah."** I smirked mischievously.

"Did that give you some issues? Were they too strong for our friendly local Ultra Class?" He glared at me and breathed fire out of his mouth.

" **LIKE HELL THOSE LITTLE SONS OF BITCHES COULD EVEN SCRATCH ME!"**

"He's telling the truth," Bulat continued, "The bullets they fired didn't even do anything and those 4 teigu wielders were batted around like flies." I smiled and nodded.

"Of course, I was just joking." I replied. Leone put her hands behind her head and grinned.

"I want to fight him sometime. Now that I think about it, all the Teigu's were made from Ultra Classes right? I wonder how the first emperor managed to kill 50 of them." She said.

I felt Shinatsuhiko shift behind me and I shrugged my shoulders.

"Who knows? Maybe they were bored of life and decided to let the Emperor kill them."

"What about Mein?" Akame said, finally unable to hold back. Najenda sighed, but the fact that she sighed and didn't stay silent was good news enough.

"She survived, thank god, but due to the loss of her arm, she got a prosthetic installed. Pumpkin was damaged beyond repair due to her final attack that pierced a black hole, but that meant that we had to remove Mein from front line combat, her body type just isn't suited for any other combat oriented teigu. I doubt Mein will accept any other teigu anyways." She explained.

Akame looked relieved and a little surprised.

"Tatsumi, it's exactly as you said." She said to me. The others tilted their heads but ignored it.

"I want to go take a bath, we were so worried about Mein that we forgot yesterday." Leone said stretching.

"But before that, I have bad news." Najenda said. We all turned to her and our eyes became serious.

"In about a week, the Revolutionary army should be right at the doorstep of the Capital, we are tasked to assassinate the Prime Minister Honest the day that the army breaches the gates."

Akame seemed surprised.

"That was fast, I thought it would take another 6 months to a year." Najenda smiled a bit.

"It's thanks the Tatsumi's Intel that we were able to get a string of victories against the Capital army and pierce through their defenses." Bulat slapped me on the back.

"Good job!"

"But there's one last obstacle before that." Najenda said.

"2 days ago, another platoon from our army got wiped out." I closed my eyes.

"Hayami." I said. Everyone nodded.

"That's the only explanation, she's back." Akame said.

"What are we going to do about it?" Leone asked. This was news to her.

"The HQ has commanded us to send people in to deal with her again."

"Again!?" Bulat yelled punching a tree, it was indented.

"Last time we did, we nearly lost 2 of our strongest members and a valuable ally!"

"We have no choice, no one else can possibly deal with her other than us."

We were all silent.

"Alright alright guys, we will talk about this after you guys rested." I suggested, or more like strongly insisted.

They nodded with some hesitation, agreeing that we need to be calm and relaxed before making another decision like this.

They went inside leaving Akame and I, I turned around and was about to head in before…

"Tatsumi, what are you planning to do?" She asked.

"… Something you probably won't like nor agree to… but it has to be done." I said without turning around.

Akame was still standing still as the door closed behind me.

* * *

I walked up to Najenda's room and knocked.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Tatsumi."

"Come in."

I walked into the room and the first thing that caught my attention was the green googles that laid in Najenda's lap.

I was silent and shocked.

"Lubbock…" I whispered.

"He died, our spy betrayed us. Lubbock and Bulat who were on the mission suffered, one was captured and the other was killed." She said, I could hear her voice quivering."

I clenched my fists.

"He… he was a brave and honorable man, perverted as he was, he was a source of energy and a great friend to have. I will never forget him, nor will anyone who's ever known him." I told her honestly.

"…Yeah… Thank you Tatsumi."

Silence fell upon us as memories of Lubbock flowed through our minds as we quietly prayed and honored Lubbock.

"What is it that you need?"

"I'm sure you already know."

"Denied."

"You can't, there's no other choice, no one else can deal with her."

"I will not send you alone."

"Then who else would you send?"

"…"

"Sending anyone else is akin to a suicide mission, sending someone with me will only drag me down, not sending anyone is not even an option."

"…"

"We both know this is the right and only choice."

"…"

"Boss, I have a request."

"… What is it?"

"Can I borrow Akame for the rest of today?"

"Why?"

"I have something important to tell her."

"What is it?"

"You already know."

"If you're a man then you will say it out loud."

"…"

"…"

"I want to tell her, that I love her."

* * *

Akame stood outside, her world is frozen.

"… _Something you probably won't like nor agree to… but it has to be done."_

She already knew what is was.

The battle against Hayami flashed through her mind, she remembered that fear.

She didn't fear death, in fact, she felt that she should die. Her hands were stained with blood of hundreds, maybe even thousands of people.

Without a doubt, if hell existed, she would be heading there.

But that fear wasn't for herself, it was the fear that Tatsumi would die.

That fear and anxiety that stayed with her for 2 weeks after leaving Tatsumi.

She would never forget.

"Akame?" Bulat's voice reached her ears and she turned around.

"Yeah?" She replied quietly.

"What's wrong?" He asked her.

"… If Tatsumi dies, I wonder how I would react…" She said.

Bulat seemed a little shocked.

"What brought this up?" She shrugged.

Bulat crossed his arms.

"Akame, have you found your answer yet?"

She tilted her head.

"To what?"

"What we talked about." What we talked about?

She was confused. What did they talk about?

" _No, that is obvious, I want you to dig deeper. I want you to tell me, what your heart is telling you."_

Her eyes widened as she remembered.

" _I won't ask for the answer now, you probably don't know it either. But Akame, one day you will understand what I'm trying to say, and then it's up to you to make a decision, follow your heart or not."_

"What my… heart is telling me?"

"If you can answer that question, then I'm sure everything will be clear."

Akame closed her eyes and Bulat patiently waited.

"My heart…"

Whenever I'm around Tatsumi, my heart beats faster.

Whenever Tatsumi is near me, I feel calm.

Whenever Tatsumi's in danger, I get scared, more scared than if any other person were in his spot.

Whenever Tatsumi's not there, I worry.

Whenever Tatsumi…

What is this feeling?

What are these thoughts?

What is my heart telling me?

That is when I heard something.

From the depth of my memories.

A past I had long forgotten.

" _Akame-chan? What's wrong?"_

" _Mother? What is 'love'?"_

" _Hmmm, that's a tough question."_

" _Why?"_

" _Love is an emotion, one that is the most difficult to describe, it's like an echo deep in your heart, something that tells you that this person is who you want to be with no matter what happens."_

" _I don't get it…"_

" _It's fine Akame-chan, one day when you meet the person you love, you will know."_

" _ **Your heart will tell you."**_

The answer was clear all along.

"Love…"

Bulat smiled.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

Akame nodded. It was suddenly clear, without a doubt, even though she never understood this emotion, even though she never experienced this emotion, somewhere inside, she was sure of it.

"Then what are you going to do about it?"

"I still don't understand my feelings, but I want him to know…"

"I want to tell him, that I love him."

* * *

"Tatsumi will go, alone." Najenda said.

Everyone was silent.

Everyone wanted to argue, to refuse, but at the same time, there was nothing to be said, there was nothing that could be said.

It was the best, safest, only option.

"Tatsumi, tomorrow at noon, 3 of our platoons is calculated to clash against 3 of the Empires platoons, it is near the spot that Hayami last appeared, the chances of her appearing is high."

I nodded.

"But before that happens… Akame is all yours." She said with a smile.

I smiled back before turning around and grabbing Akame's hand and brought her outside.

Leone, Bulat and Najenda only smiled and watched as we left.

Akame still hasn't comprehended the situation.

"Tatsumi?"

"There's a place I want to show you."

With that, we climbed onto Kaiser's back.

"Kaiser, the valley." I said and he nodded.

With that, we took off into the distance.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Akame asked as we flew through the cloudless sky.

The sun was setting as we neared our destination, the unnamed valley deep in the forest.

"Kaiser, drop us at the entrance and wait until we come back up please."

" **Got it."**

We landed near the entrance of the valley, the cliff.

We both jumped off, Kaiser trodded off into the forest.

"Don't get seen."

" **No shit."**

I sighed but thanked him on the inside for the fact that he didn't ask any questions. I turned back to Akame.

"Akame, do you remember this place?" I asked.

She nodded.

"This is where you fell after you were kidnapped by Esdeath." I nodded.

"We are heading to the bottom of the valley"

"Why?" I smiled mischievously.

"You'll see soon, a surprise isn't a surprise if you aren't surprised by it." With that I picked her up in a princess carry and jumped.

She seemed surprisingly calm despite the fact we just jumped off a cliff, but all I can say is 'as expected'.

We slowly drifted down.

The biggest mystery of this valley is its lighting.

The sunlight can reach down here, yet the bottom is not visible from above. Looking from the top down, it looks like an endless drop. From the bottom up, it looks no different than if you were at the top.

Akame's eyes slowly widened as the sparkling blue lake became visible, seemingly emerging from the darkness.

I landed near the lake and set Akame down.

She looked around, immersed in the beauty of the scenery.

I quietly watched her, smiling, satisfied.

"Tatsumi, this place is beautiful."

"Glad you like it."

"But why did you want to show it to me?"

I closed my eyes and prepared myself.

She stood near the water, I was a few steps away.

I stepped up beside her and began walking, she followed.

"This is a place where I had died once, where I was reborn. This is the place where I trained, where I lived. This is a place where I thought and I realized."

I stopped in front of the great tree.

"This was where my second Teigu, Fenrir laid asleep."

Akame nodded, seeing the hole in the ground.

"Akame, do you know why most people can't duel wield?"

She shook her head.

"Made from Ultra-class beasts, Teigu's still retain their old instincts. That is why Teigu's can accept and reject you. But with 2 teigu's, their old instinct over territory are still there, causing conflict within the wielder. That's why people can't duel wield."

"Then how can you, and Hayami, duel wield?"

"… A strong will." I said.

"A strong will?"

"Yeah, a strong will, stronger than the instincts of your teigu, strong enough to control them."

"…How?" I smiled, slowly turning around.

The sun was behind me, it was just at the horizon making it a beautiful orange half-circle.

The sky was dyed orange, red, and yellow.

The wind blew by and the leaves rustled under the force.

The great tree swayed left and right.

"It's thanks to you…"

Her eyes widened.

"The desire to protect everyone I know, our friends in the Night Raid, alive and deceased, they made me stronger, but more than that, I wanted to protect you."

"…Why?" Her voice was quivering a bit, her eyes sparkling.

A rare show of emotions from her.

I slowly walked up to her and embraced her.

"Because

I love you."

She was shaking a bit in my arms.

I wonder how she's going to react.

Reject me? Push me away?

It scares me, if she pushes me away and says she doesn't feel the same…

What would happen if she says does that?

I closed my eyes and waited, my heart beating faster and louder by the second.

If she rejects me I don't think I'll be able to li-

"Me too."

The world froze once again.

Did I just hear her wrong?

Is my subconscious messing with my hearing?

I probably heard her wrong but for some reason…

"Why do I feel so happy?" I said, my voice no longer strong, no longer confident.

She hugged me back.

"That's what I should be asking you."

I pulled away from the hug.

"I don't know the answer to everything."

She smiled.

"But you know more than me." I looked her in the eyes.

"So what are we going to do now?"

She shrugged.

"I don't know." I sighed.

"Guess it's up to me then."

I grabbed her shoulders.

'I wonder if I'm doing this right.'

I pulled her in.

'I wonder if this is the right mood.'

We both leaned forward.

But honestly…

Our lips met.

'I doubt Akame knows either.'

The sun set behind us and a cool wind blew through the valley as if night had instantly come.

The warmth that started from our lips traveled through our bodies.

Who needs a sun anyways?

All we need, is each other.

* * *

We landed back at base, holding hands.

They were waiting there expectantly.

"Congratulations." Najenda said stepping up.

I raised an eyebrow.

"How'd you know we got together? I could've been rejected."

"Bulat told us that Akame felt the same." Leone said with a grin.

My eyes widened.

"Bro! Why didn't you tell me? I was scared half to death!" I yelled.

He just stood tall and smiled down at me.

"Tatsumi! Love is an adventure, if you don't experience the risks, how could you call yourself a man?!" He said in a loud voice.

I sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, thanks." I said waving him off.

"Congrats Akame! Your big sister is so happy for you!" Leone said pulling Akame into a head lock.

"Don't make such a big deal out of it." She replied with her usual monotone, but her face was tinted pink.

"Aww don't be like that Akame, remember, if you ever get bored with him, I'll be glad to take…him… Okay, okay, I'm sorry, it's just a joke."

Akame's signature 'I'll eliminate you' glare shut Leone up before she could even finish her joke.

Najenda stepped up to me, catching my attention.

"Tatsumi, do you still plan to go fight Hayami on your own?" I nodded without hesitation.

"Yeah, I have a plan, if it's successful then we will gain another unmatchable power."

Everyone's eyes widened.

"You don't mean…"

I lowered my head and my eyes were 100% serious.

"I plan on bringing Hayami to our side."

* * *

It was morning.

I woke up beside Akame.

Not on the roof this time.

In a bed.

We didn't do anything yet, get your minds out of the gutter.

She just didn't want to let me go.

The look on her face, just that look will be able to keep me alive.

I slipped myself out of bed and headed downstairs.

I prepared breakfast before getting ready.

Shinatsuhiko on my back, Fenrir on my waist.

Everyone was here to see me off.

They looked scared at first, anxious, but the look of determination on my face calmed them down.

"Don't worry guys, I don't plan on dying until this war is over." I said with a smile.

"I have already informed the HQ about the plan to use our platoons as bait." She handed me an object, it was a cylinder with a line and a ring below, kind of like a grenade.

"This is the signal, when you get to the battle field, pull the line and it will signal the army to retreat." I nodded.

"Thanks." I said.

"That's all I can do, good luck." She said with a regretful smile.

"It's all you need to do."

"You better come back! I will murder your ass in hell if you die." Leone said with her grin.

"Got it."

Bulat nodded at me, nothing needed to be said, he had taught me all he could and it's time I proved myself.

As for Akame.

I gave her a hug.

She hugged me back.

I climbed onto Kaiser.

His mighty wings flapped and we took off into the sky.

I turned around and our eyes met one last time.

The look in her eyes told me more than words could.

It was a simple one line phrase and one I intended to follow.

'Come back, even if it kills you.'

* * *

 **Sooooo, that was the first time I wrote a really romantic scene and I dunno if I took it too quickly or if I did okay.**

 **Please gimme some feedback.**

 **If I did shit, well I'm sorry, I'm a 15 year old virgin with no love experience.**

 **LOL XD.**

 **Also, sorry for the slow update, I have like a midterm test in this one random class and it's taking place smack middle of term 2. It's weird and I have to study for it or else my parents will kick my ass.**

 **But anyways, thanks for reading.**

 **WE OUT – LOL XD - BzS**


	28. Chapter 28 - 1 Vs 1 Vs 300

I looked around.

This place was a very odd landmark in the middle of a large plain south west from the Capital.

It was a forest covering a mere 2 acres of land, yet the trees were more than 70 feet tall.

This forest named Great Oak Forest was the meeting place of 2 armies.

I quickly blinked onto a tree branch, then onto another, then onto another, soon reaching the top of the trees.

A few rays dropped down through the thick treetops, reflecting off of the bow strapped on my back.

I broke out of the leaves and a gush of air blew my hair into the wind.

I brought my hand up to block the piercing sunlight from my eyes. In the far distance, North East and South West of this forest, I could see 2 thin shadows that didn't belong there.

I smiled. My intuition was right on. I have no reliable Intel to base my actions off of, but my intuition has never been off before.

Just from the shadows alone, I could tell roughly that they are an army of 100 and 300 respectively. They are about 9.8 miles away.

As an archer, distance and depth perception are crucial, I can at least tell that much.

If they continue at an average pace, they would meet each other in a few hours with me stuck in between.

I proceeded to blink through the forest, arriving at the edge and sat down on a tree branch. I was facing South West, waiting for the 100 man army, or maybe I should call it a battalion?

I silently closed my eyes and dozed off.

Time before 400 corpses fall as their blood stains the ground, 3 hours and counting.

* * *

" **So, what do you plan to do?"**

"You can drop me off here at the forest, be ready to come pick us up when I call you."

" **Sure, guess I'm staying out of this fight?"**

"Yeah." He snorted and flames came out.

" **Don't die on me kid."** I smirked.

"Don't go soft on me you fluffy lizard." He snorted again, the only reason he didn't yell back is probably in case he alerts Hayami of our position.

We were silently gliding a few hundred feet above the forest. I checked to see if I had my flare ready before I prepared to jump off.

"Thank Kaiser." He nodded in acknowledgment and I jumped off.

I was free falling and the tree tops accelerated towards me. Just before I hit the branches, I slowed to a gentle stop.

I hopped onto a nearby tree branch and sat down. Closing my eyes I focused my attention on my 6th sense.

The revolutionary army consisted of 100 men, marching from the South West towards here. They will arrive in 5 minutes.

The Imperial Army consisted of 300 men, marching from the North East towards here. They will arrive in 2 minutes.

At the South West edge of the forest, Hayami was in quiet slumber.

I could clearly see her sleeping face if I focused hard enough.

The constant current passing through this forest allows me to see every detail in this forest.

My heart softened a bit. For some reason, I feel a connection to her, I feel like I can help her.

Maybe it was because I pitied her past, losing her family in a horrifying scene. Maybe it was because of some other unknown reason.

It wasn't love, my heart is already taken.

It's more like… connection? Maybe we were siblings in a separate world.

I laughed a little on my crazy thought.

No way that's true.

* * *

"ACHOO!" I sneezed.

"Onii-sama? Are you okay?" I turned towards her.

"Hayami, yeah I'm okay." She sighed a little before looking at me with scolding eyes.

"You need to take care of yourself, did you catch a cold?" I shrugged.

"Probably not, I felt someone talking about me." I said, but that quickly left my mind.

"Ah, it's time for the club, can't keep Akame waiting." I said before I ran off.

Hayami can only smile behind me.

* * *

As I was lost deep in thought, the Revolutionary Army was already at the edge of the forest while the Imperial Army was marching through the forest.

Hayami had already woken up and was observing the Revolutionary Army.

The Revolutionary Army is stationed half a mile from the edge of the forest. I began hopping from branch to branch, heading South West and upward at the same time.

When the 2 armies meet and Hayami is drawn out, I will signal the retreat and confront Hayami, at least, that's the plan.

I was careful to conceal my presence as I landed a few branches behind Hayami.

She was a bit oblivious, maybe that's to be expected since she doesn't seem like she's been trained in detection, or maybe it's because I've gotten better at being an assassin.

I didn't attack her, I could very well kill her right now, but that's not the plan.

I will find out her reason, and if I can, I want to convince her to join us.

* * *

"Captain!" I turned around in my tent away from the map to face the saluting soldier.

"Did something come up?" I asked.

"No sir, but I wanted to clarify our orders." I nodded.

"We will station here and wait for the Imperial Army then retreat either on my signal or on our allies signal." He nodded.

"Should we prepare to fight then?" I nodded.

"Arm yourselves, we are outnumbered 3 to 1, but be ready to retreat."

"Sir, yes sir!" With that he left.

I stared at the map again.

We are stationed half a mile from the forest, the effective range of current firearms is around ¼ a mile.

Once the Imperial army appeared from the edge of the forest and enters within range, we will begin firing until we get the signal.

If the signal doesn't come, I will order the retreat.

That's the plan.

I closed my eyes and quietly waited.

Time slowly passed as the ground slowly tremored.

"Captain, the enemy is nearing the edge fo the forest." I nodded.

"Order the troops to get into formation."

"Sir, yes sir."

* * *

I stood up as the 300 man army marched right blow me.

"It's almost time for me to make my entrance right?"

I pulled out the bow from behind me and an arrow shot out from my wrist and I caught it in my hand.

My arrow dispensing mechanism works pretty easily, a device similar to a wrist band that automatically shoots out arrows into my hand just with a thought. Where these arrows come from is beyond me, but I have no reason to care anyways.

It shoots out arrows at high speeds, catching arrows alone took me months to master.

I aimed upwards and the arrow glowed brown before I fired it off.

I then turned back to the army, timed ticked as they slowly approached each other.

My eyes followed the arrow that came back down and jumped into the air.

* * *

The two armies stood face to face, just within firing range. They simultaneously brought their arms up and was about to pull the triggers when an arrow landed between the 2 armies.

The earth was shattered and a huge crater appeared in the ground. Both armies began to panic as the ground tremored.

A shadow landed in the middle where the arrow landed and slowly stood up.

Behind her, a blood red sphere exploded into thousands of sparks for extra effects.

But that was no ordinary sphere.

The captain of the Revolutionary Army snapped out of his shock.

"RETREAT!"

The army quickly and orderly began backing off at a constant pace, by the time the Imperial Army recovered from shock, they were already out of firing range.

But Hayami wasn't that slow to recover.

She had immediately fired a green arrow at the Captain but it missed.

Her eyes widened, her read on the wind has never been off, as demonstrated by the first Earth Arrow. She had calculated the angle and strength based on wind speed, wind changes and even air density so that the arrow landed just between the 2 armies.

This was odd, but she didn't have time to ponder on what happened. She dashed forward but only managed to travel 40 feet before she was intercepted by a blade.

She slid under it and drew her bow, turning around and shot the lightning arrow at the owner of the blade.

The arrow was split in half.

Hayami was beyond shocked, not only had he stopped her mid dash, but also split her fastest arrow.

"Who are you?!" She yelled on guard.

"You don't remember me? That makes me feel sad, after all…" She was forced to side step a green arc.

Green arc?

"You've killed me once." She looked back at him with a shocked but small smile.

"How are you still alive? Tatsumi."

* * *

After she jumped off, I immediately followed.

I manipulated the winds to blow her arrow slightly off course.

In theory, Shinatsuhiko is a perfect counter to Artemis, but changing the course of her arrows is actually really difficult.

Wind arrows have the penetration quality to basically ignore air resistance, changing its course is difficult.

Lightning arrows have the speed to ignore winds. Earth arrows have the momentum to do the same.

Water arrows have the splash so that a tiny change to its course doesn't matter.

Shadow arrows are only used in close range.

Light arrows aren't used to cause damage.

Normally, I wouldn't have been able to blow the arrow off course at all, but with the possession of Fenrir, my increased concentration has allowed me to control winds at a new and higher level.

But even with that new level, it took all I had to cause her arrows to barely miss.

I intercepted her and swung my sword at her in order to stop her from catching up to the army. I smiled as she ducked under the sword.

Her reaction time is also top notch, guess it's to be expected of someone who can travel at such high speeds.

This is going to be interesting.

"Who are you?!" She yelled at me.

She seemed a little shocked. Of course, it's natural, I doubt anyone before me could keep up with her.

"You don't remember me? That makes me feel sad, after all, you've killed me once." Her eyes narrowed, but she had a small, shocked smile.

"How are you still alive? Tatsumi." I shrugged my shoulder.

"Who knows? Does it matter?" Her smile disappeared as something dawned on her.

She quickly turned around, the army was already a mile away.

She was about to take off but her defensive instincts kicked in and she ducked. My blade flew overhead and my foot flew towards her. She flashed out of vision and reappeared a few feet away.

"Sorry, but you aren't going to catch up to them." I said to her.

She glared at me.

"How are you so fast?" She said in a low voice. I had no reason to hide it anyways.

"Haven't you noticed something extra on me?" I said as I pointed Fenrir at her.

Her eyes widened once again. But then she smiled.

"As expected, you managed to duel wield huh?" I nodded.

"You gave me plenty motivation to try it out." I narrowed my eyes at her.

"I will get straight to the point. Hayami, join us." She looked a bit surprised, but she laughed a little.

"Why? Why would you even bother? Did you think that would work?" I didn't turn my vision away from her.

"I understand a bit of your pain, I've lost people who were close to me too, I want to end this war too. I promise, we will end this war soon, I don't want you as our enemy." Her eyes darkened.

"You understand my pain? What do you know of my pain?" She said as her banged covered her eyes.

In the background, I could hear some yelling along the lines of who we are, but we couldn't care less.

She looked at me, her brown eye seemingly glowing. That piercing look.

"What I suffered through, you can never understand. I will end all wars, these pointless systems of mass destruction and death with my own hands." She said.

"You know Tatsumi, I've lost everything dear to me because of this thing called war. I drowned in despair, but one day, it dawned on me." A crazy smile appeared on her face.

"If I killed everyone participating in a war, then there will be no war. If I was feared throughout the world as a bringing of death that appears to destroy both sides only during wars, then I will be able to bring peace." She said as she looked at her hands.

"I didn't have the strength, but one day, I found Artemis. She accepted me and granted me the power to do so." She looked back at me.

"I will end all wars. I will stain my hand in blood in order to stop this madness."

I stared into her eyes. Her eyes were filled with regret and pain.

She was forcing herself to do this, she had no other choice.

This was the only motivation for her to live. Her only reason to fight.

I closed my eyes.

"Hayami, let's make a deal." I said. She glared at me.

"No."

"I will bring you to my side even if it means killing you. So…"

"I already said no."

"If you kill me by the end of this battle, then that's fine."

"I told you NO!"

"But if I win this battle…" She fired a green arrow to stop me.

I sliced it in half.

"You will join me." She glared at me.

"Why are you so persistent?"

"Because I want to save you." I said with a smile.

Her eyes widened, but she smiled a little.

A gentle wind blew over the plains from the forest.

"Alright then, I'll accept." She said after a moment.

"I won't follow anyone weaker than me." I smirked at her.

"That's pretty conceited, but first, we have something else to deal with."

I swung me hand a thousands of bullets flew past me. Hayami flashed around, leaving afterimages and dodging all the bullets.

During our little conversation, it seemed the Imperial Army had regained their composure and had actually started yelling at us about our identities and threatening to fire.

They didn't follow through with their threats until now.

Probably because they were scared.

But now that we gave them a few minutes to recover, bullets began raining at us.

The current common handheld weaponry for armies are fully automatic machine guns with large calibers, high penetration power, and with an average speed of 2000 ft/s.

They were designed to be weapons of mass killing, capable of downing a person with a decently placed shot, and when 300 bullets were fired at the same time, there was no need to aim.

At least, it's supposed to be that way.

To me, they looked like they were crawling towards me, I can easily see a path through the bullets. But why waste energy dodging when I can blew them away from me?

The average human reaction time is around 0.25 seconds. Meaning, for a person to dodge a bullet, it will have to be fired from at least 500 ft away.

Akame's natural born and trained reaction speed is 0.05 seconds, meaning she could dodge bullets from 100 ft away.

With my boosted senses, my reaction speed is under .01 seconds. I can easily dodge bullets from 20 ft away.

But… I turned back to Hayami.

They are 200 ft away from us right now, slowly advancing, yet Hayami can still dodge these bullets.

Her reaction is on par with Akame, and I could feel small shockwaves forming every time she changes direction.

She's on the verge of breaking the sound barrier already. She's even faster than before.

Her trump card at this rate should be around Mach 5. How her body can withstand instant acceleration and deceleration is beyond me.

I turned back to the army and narrowed my eyes.

This is getting a little annoying, I can't afford wasting too much energy fighting this army.

Therefore…

I swung my right arm horizontally in front of me and a wind barrier flew forward. Every bullet that touched it flew upward and I ran right behind it.

Before the enemy could blink, I had already passed their frontline and appeared in the middle of the army.

They didn't have the time to scream.

I spun on the spot and a dozen fell, split from top to bottom.

I immediately side stepped a brown arrow that flew by my head. It hit a soldier instead and his rib cage shattered, his lung and heart immediately collapsed and he died on the spot.

"Hayami! That was dangerous!" I yelled.

"Of course, that was meant to kill you after all." I heard her reply. I smirked, this is the game she wants to play huh?

She had also reached the army at the same time and was killing people left and right.

I side stepped a volley of bullets that continued on and penetrated one of the soldiers. It seems they are panicking. I smirked.

I stopped for an instant and swung my sword, slicing down multiple enemies. I could 'see' Hayami moving behind me.

A barrage of bullets came from in front. I blinked out of the way before slicing down the soldiers who shot them.

The bullets continued on and Hayami appeared right in its trajectory. Her eyes widened, she had just dodged a wave of bullets and was in midair. Her eyes narrowed before she pulled back an arrow.

It was glowing blue, but a deep, dark shade of blue.

Her arrow shot to the ground beneath the bullets and it splashed out.

The shards were glowing black.

The bullets all froze in midair.

My eyes widened, she can infuse her arrow with multiple elements? I snapped out of thought and was forced to dodge a greenish yellow arrow before blowing away a rain of bullets and a few people along with it.

She seemed a little angry, I should finish off these soldiers quickly, and dodging her new arrows and bullets wasn't that easy of a task.

I turned to the remaining 200 or so soldiers. I had been holding back on using Fenrir because I didn't need it, but no more mercy.

I gripped Fenrir in my right and Shinatsuhiko in my left. Shinatsuhiko was in a reverse grip. I closed my eyes and focused entirely on my third eye.

Fenrir's increased senses can work against me pretty easily, increased vision means it's easier to be distracted, increased smell and taste make it so that the scent of blood is multiple times more impacting than normal, increased hearing makes gunshots sound like thunder, and increase in feel makes pain more painful.

Not to mention, all this is engraved into my brain by Shinatsuhiko. The face of all my dead enemies, the scent of their blood, the taste of their blood in the air, the sound of their screams.

It can drive a person insane.

But I can't afford to lose my mind, I won't allow it. Therefore…

I just have to shut everything out.

I lost all my senses. I couldn't hear anything, I couldn't smell or taste or feel or see.

But I knew where everything was. It was as if the entirety of the world existed in my mind.

I ducked and dodged every bullet, my blades passed through their bodies like they were made of air, their blood was kept off my body because I didn't stop long enough for it to reach me.

When my left arm swung, dozens died, their upper body no longer with their lower.

When my right arm swung, a few died, their body singed, senses numb.

Hayami's arrows couldn't reach me, they would be blown off course, dodged, or destroyed. She wasn't shooting me to kill me, nor did she expect to injure me, she probably did it just because she can.

If there was anyone watching, they would puke, no doubt.

200 men, faces shrouded in fear, pain, desperation, despair.

200 men, sliced, pierced, electrocuted, crushed.

200 men, dead on the once green plain.

It took 10 minutes to kill all 200 men.

* * *

 **MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HUNUKKAH OR WHATEVER YOU CELEBRATE THIS TIME OF THE YEAR.**

 **So sorry it took a long time to update, it's been a busy month or so, I got mid-terms, mid-terms, mid-terms, projects, family, mid-terms, procrastination, oh and mid-terms.**

 **I actually finished writing this on the 23** **rd** **, but hey, it's almost Christmas, so think of this as a present from me to you.**

 **If you want to thank me, I will be accepting gifts any time, just send them to *** ****** **** *** ****** ** *****.**

 **Jokes aside, I will also be releasing my Christmas Chapter at 12:00 CST December 24th.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoyed, maybe it ended a little gruesome for Christmas but still.**

 **Hope you all a happy bloody Christmas.**

 **XD - BzS**


	29. Chapter 29 - Christmas Special

Tatsumi, 12 years old.

It's been 2 years since I found Shinatsuhiko in a cave hidden deep in the mountains.

Today, deep in the forest, during the biggest snow storm I have ever seen in my 12 years.

Sleeping under a thick white blanket, a black haired girl.

* * *

I was wandering in the middle of this snow storm. The snow falling so thick and so fast that you might as well have your eyes closed so that you don't get blinded by the pure whiteness. The winds were so brutal, every snow flake was like a bullet flying at you.

Any normal human would've died in this snow storm, lost, frozen, blinded, or maybe even suffocated.

But I'm no normal human.

In the 2 years, I've got some basic control over this weapon, though I've focused mainly on swordsmanship and footwork. Still, creating a tight zone around me where snow can't enter and winds are separated wasn't that difficult if I put a little concentration into it. I could also sense a good 200 ft around me with what I named 'Eye of the storm'.

Usually the range I can sense is smaller, but with such huge winds, I didn't even need to concentrate on it.

It's similar to your vision during a clear sunny day and a foggy day. How powerful the wind determines how far I can sense without concentrating.

So why was I wandering deep in the mountain in the middle of a blizzard?

It's simple, hunting.

Winter in the mountains is tough, wild animals are hibernating and only a few danger beasts are wandering around, plus sudden change in weather can cause the death of many villagers.

That's why they send me, I am immune to weather, loss of direction, and I can find food easily.

Not to mention, the danger beasts in this mountain are not a match for me.

I looked stood still and closed my eyes, extending my sensing range to 500 ft around me and I sensed a herd of deer being chased by a danger beast 400 ft away.

I immediately dashed towards that direction, reaching them in under a minute.

It was a danger beast 3 times the size of a large bear, but looked like an overgrown wolf with 3 rows of teeth.

The first thing I did was throw my backpack onto the ground, from the side I grabbed my rope and collars. I quickly jumped and flew through the pack of deers, placing a collar on every neck and pulled on the rope.

The herd stopped and shrieked, a total of 5 deer. I then pulled Shinatsuhiko from by back, left hand still on the rope, my sword glowed green and I swung my sword towards the danger beast. It was split in half instantly.

I then turned back to the herd, I pulled them forcefully towards my backpack before feeding them some small spheres that was in a jar inside my backpack. The entire herd began calming down and started nuzzling me.

I sighed but smiled.

These spheres were special treats, I guess you could call them. They were made by the experienced hunters and tamers in the village, polished through generations. If fed to non-danger beast animals, they would become passive and obedient. Made from a special herb found deep in the mountains during spring.

This herd will be brought back to the village, bred and eaten. It's a little sad, but that's how life in the mountains work.

I brushed their head before pulling on their collars.

I put my hand into the backpack and pulled out a makeshift sled. I tied the sled onto the herd and pulled the Danger Beast Corpse onto the sled.

This thing is food, nothing else to be said.

I secured the sled, put on my backpack and began leading the herd back towards the village.

A danger beast this size is enough to feed 3 or 4 families. Of course, we could last on our livestock and storehouses alone for the winter, but it tomorrow is the big day, we need some excess food.

Usually we would have more hunters out and hunting, but because of the snow storm today, I'm the only one allowed out. It's still a pretty good haul.

As I was analyzing my accomplishments today, I felt something odd emerge into my senses.

Around 80 ft away, there was an irregular bump in the snow. The chances are, it's a corpse of a dead animal, if that's the case then I can go pick it up, since it's the winter and it's probably frozen and still edible.

With that thought in mind, I headed over there.

What I found instead, exceeded all my expectations.

A black haired girl, sleeping under the thick, white blanket.

My eyes widened and I ran up to her.

Her footprints were still visible in the snow, even though it's still coming down thick, which means she's collapsed minutes ago.

I touched her face, it was warm, her pulse was there but it was very weak. She's still trembling a bit, but not nearly as much as normal.

I brushed the snow off her body and picked her up.

She was wearing a simple coat over what I assumed was a dress, strapped to her side was a katana. I clenched my teeth.

I don't know who this girl is, she's a moron, who gets lost in the middle of the forest deep in the mountains with only a coat to keep her warm?!

I quickly pulled out a blanket from my backpack and wrapped her up. She can still be saved, I need to hurry back.

I was still 10 minutes from the village, but she might not last that long if I kept her cold.

I made a decision.

I carried her on my back with the blanket still on her.

Hopefully, my body heat will be able to keep her alive for just a while longer.

I began walking back to the village, concentrating on keeping the wind and snow out of the way, still pulling the herd along.

Please, let me make it in time!

* * *

It was a long 12 minute walk, but she was still alive, I could still feel her faint heartbeat.

I entered the village and headed straight to the farms.

It was warmest there in order to keep the livestock alive, it was also near the orphanage where I lived.

I wasn't born in this village.

Even though I was only 4 years old, I still remember it as if it was yesterday.

My parents were killed before my eyes.

It was a simple trip to a nearby city, but on the way back, we were attacked.

My dad died protecting me and my mother, my mother hid me in a bush in the forest and died.

A hunter that passed by a few hours later found me, asleep on my mother's corpse and brought me to this village.

I can still remember every little detail.

Maybe it's because my family got murdered that I can't forget, or maybe it's because Shinatsuhiko brought the memories back to me.

In any case, it doesn't matter.

At least, not right now.

I slammed the farm house door right open, leading the herd inside.

A villager was sitting there, waiting for me.

"Tatsumi! Welcome ba-" I cut him off right there.

His name was Rolland, the caretaker of the livestock.

"No time, I found this girl in the forest freezing, we need to help her **now**." He was a little surprised but nodded immediately.

We brought her into Rolland's house, and took of her coat and laid her sword by the bedside.

As expected, she was wearing a red and white mini dress underneath.

It was soaked, the coat wasn't waterproof and the water had seeped through it.

Keeping her in wet clothes was dangerous, it can drop the body temperature, it needs to come off.

"Rolland-san! Where's Alice-san?!" I yelled. Alice was Rolland's wife, we need her to take off this girl's clothes.

"She's over by Miyu's house!" He yelled back from the kitchen, I had asked him to prepare some hot water.

I clicked my tongue. No choice, please forgive me, I'm out of options.

I took off her mini-dress.

Even though I'm only twelve, I still understand certain gender relation rules and such. This is definitely breaking one of those rules.

But saving someone's life and that are completely different things.

I did my best to ignore everything I saw, but thanks to Shinatsuhiko, forgetting about them is absolutely impossible.

I couldn't help but blush.

She was around my age, 12 or so, and she was definitely what you would consider a beauty.

I shook my head, before returning to my serious mode, I tucked her in bed and turned up the heat. Rolland came in with a kettle of warm water.

I poured some on a towel and placed it on her head.

I turned back to Rolland a little embarrassed and pointed at her dress. He smiled mischievously but nodded. He was a logical and mature man, he understood that it was necessary.

He went out with the dress to dry and said he'd prepare some soup, I nodded.

I brought up a chair and sat by her bed. For some reason, I felt the need to take care of her, maybe it's because I feel responsible for bringing her here in the first place.

There's isn't much I can do other than wait though.

So, wait, I did.

* * *

I sighed in relief, her body temperature is slowly and steadily increasing, it's already at 86 Degrees Fahrenheit and she should be safe now.

I took a sip out of my soup, it was warm and tasty, perfect for a cold winter day.

Rolland had went to take care of the herd and the danger beast, leaving me alone in the house with her.

I took a look at her face.

She really was beautiful.

She had pale white skin that is slowly regaining it's colors, her hair is pitch black and smooth like silk. If she grew a pair of wings and told me she was an angel I'd probably believe her.

Speaking of angel, it's the New Year's season right now.

Its 6 days before the New Year begins, for this past week, people have been preparing for the celebration of the Coming Year.

It's common folklore here that on the 6th Night before the New Year's, an angel, supposedly a humanoid creature with pure white wings, will descend from the skies and bless everyone in the village with good fortune if they've behaved well in the past year.

The 5th day before the New Years is the designated celebration time. Why the 6th and 5th? Who knows? It is tradition and it's pointless to question it.

I snapped back into reality when I felt movement.

The girl slowly opened her eyes and stared at the room.

Her eyes were red, a bright, breathtaking red.

Her eyes wandered around the ceiling before turning to me. She looked a little confused and groggy, as to be expected, but her expression changed to surprise and a little bit of panic.

She tried to push herself up but I held her down.

"Calm down, I don't intend to do any harm to you, I'll explain the situation so calm down."

She looked a little scared but nodded.

"What's your name?" She stared at me for a second before replying.

"..Aka." I tilted my head for a second, that's an odd name, or maybe it's because she's not from around here.

"Aka-san, I found you freezing in the forest and brought you to my village." She looked surprised but nodded.

"Can you tell me why you were deep in the mountains with only a coat?" I asked her gently.

She shook her head. I sighed.

"Alright, I won't pry." She looked at me with thankful eyes.

"Put on your dress, I'll be waiting outside." I stood up and went outside.

After a while, I heard a small voice.

"Come in."

I went back in and she stood there in her dress white and red dress again.

I told her to get back in bed and she obeyed quietly. I brought her a bowl of soup.

"Thank you." She said, her face tainted red.

She quietly ate and I quietly watched.

She finished quickly and asked me for more. I brought her more.

Before I knew it she had gone through 4 bowls and I sweat dropped.

'This girl has a big appetite.'

She stuck out her bowl for more but I stopped her.

"Your still recovering, if you eat too much too quickly it can be unhealthy." I said to her.

She pouted which I found criminally cute but nodded.

"Get some rest, it's already pretty late, I will come back in the morning." I said before standing up.

She stopped me by grabbing my wrist.

I looked at her with my head tilted.

"… Can you stay here tonight?" My heart skipped a beat before I calmed myself down.

She's probably scared, after all, she's in a completely unknown place and I'm the only one she can probably trust.

So I nodded.

"Alright, but I have to go notify my caretaker, I'll be back in a few minutes." She nodded.

I headed outside and told Rolland of the situation, he nodded and said he'll prepare a futon for me.

I then went to the orphanage and opened the front door.

"Tatsumi-chan! Welcome back!" Mayumi said with a smile.

Mayumi was the caretaker of the orphanage and a mother figure to me. Though she can never replace my real mother.

"I'm back, I just came back to explain the situation." She tilted her head.

"What's wrong?" I told her the story.

How I found a girl sleeping under the snow, how I brought her to the farm, how I took care of her and how she asked me to stay with her for the night.

Mayumi nodded with understanding.

"I got it, you can stay with her. I'll tell Sayo and Ieyasu about it later." I nodded in thanks.

"Good night Tatsumi-chan!" She said as I left.

"Good night, Kaa-san."

* * *

I found a note and a futon mattress laying on the floor next to the door.

The note was from Rolland, how he and his wife will be staying at Miyu-sans house for the night, and that I had permission to use whatever I liked inside the house.

The storm had calmed down, though it was still going, it's not nearly as violent.

I cooked up some food from the fridge and brought it on a tray to the room.

I knocked on the door but heard no response, so I entered slowly and carefully.

She was staring at her katana and lost in thought.

I slowly walked towards her and placed the tray on the table beside her bed with a clang.

What I didn't expect was for a blade to fly at me.

But I didn't spend the last 2 years doing nothing.

I caught the blade in my right hand and her wrist in my left.

Her eyes widened before she weakened her hold and let the blade drop into my hands.

I sighed in relief. I managed to clutch that only because her swing was really slow, probably because she was sitting and she was still weak.

"Aka-san, that was dangerous." I said with a small glare. She looked down at her hands with a sad expression. I sighed, it's not like I got hurt so it's fine, but if it was anyone else they'd be injured.

"Here, have some food." I said. It was another bowl of soup and a sandwich.

She nodded nervously but accepted it.

While she ate I set up my futon next to her bed, didn't have much choice in the matter, the room wasn't that big.

She didn't seem to mind though.

I took the dishes when she was finished and ordered her to bed, she obeyed and closed her eyes.

I washed the dishes and when I came back to the room, she was already asleep.

I said nothing, turned off the lights, crawled into bed, and fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

I woke up early again and took a look outside.

The storm had cleared and it was bright and sunny out, the sunlight glistened off the pure white snow like trillions of tiny diamonds.

I sighed at the sight, it was a perfect day to celebrate.

Aka-san was still asleep so I went ahead and prepared breakfast, by the time I finished, the house was filled with a delicious aroma.

I heard some sounds coming from the room and hurried over.

"Aka-san, you awake?" I said knocking on the door.

"Mhmm." I heard and opened the door.

She sat on the bed rubbing her eyes, her legs dangling from the side. She yawned and then looked at me with those red eyes.

I blushed at the scene but shook my head.

"Are you feeling okay now?" She nodded. I was surprised, it's normal for someone to be stuck in bed for weeks from fevers, to weakness, or whatever. She recovered in one night.

I brushed it aside, she did know how to wield a sword after all, I'm assuming she has had some amount of training.

"Can you move? I have breakfast ready." Her eyes widened and she stood up. She nodded vigorously and I smiled. I learned yesterday this girl had an appetite, so sorry Rolland but your fridge is looking pretty poor right now.

I led her to the kitchen and sat down on the opposite side of her. She began devouring the food at a moderate pace, it's obvious she's holding back a little.

"Do you have any plans from now on?" I asked her. She stopped eating and nodded her head slowly.

"I'm going to leave by tomorrow." I nodded.

"Alright, I'm not going to ask where or why, but today is a day of celebration in this village, do you want to join me?" I said with a shy smile.

She looked at me a little surprised. I tilted my head when it hit me.

Wait a minute am I asking her out?

My face heated up.

I did this 100% on impulse and had no exterior motive whatsoever.

"… Will you?" She asked back. I slowly nodded trying to stop blood from rushing to my head.

"Thanks!" She said with a bright smile.

I can only stare at the table waiting for my blood flow to return to normal.

* * *

The Gregorian calendar developed and released by the orders of Emperor Gregory VIII, is the official calendar for every nation on this continent.

It splits the year into 12 months, alternating between 31 and 30 days per month with the exception of the 2nd month, which is usually 28 days except once every 4 years where it becomes 29 days.

Personally, I think this system is retarded, I do not know how Emperor Gregory VIII created it like this but since no one opposes it, it's pointless to think about.

The last month consists of 30 days, therefore, therefore, the 25th is the day of celebration.

It has no real name, since whoever came up with the legend didn't bother to name it.

But that doesn't stop the happy mood from encasing the entire village.

It was early in the morning, around 7 o'clock, when we stepped out of the house.

I had ran over to the orphanage to borrow a set of warm winter clothes for Akame since just seeing her in nothing but a coat makes me shiver.

She had a pair of gloves, a scarf wrapped around her neck, a fur coat and a pair of ear muffs.

She looked super cute if I do say so myself.

Anyways, what I wore was the same as yesterday, a pair of gloves and a fur coat.

I had forced Aka-san to leave her sword inside the house, I did the same.

Rolland and his wife knew better than to touch our weapons.

As we stepped out of the house, the festive spirit hit us in the face.

The entire town was decorated, with snow mans in front of every household, ornaments hanged on trees, ribbons and yarn and string and ropes and everything everywhere.

I smiled brightly, I loved the 25th.

It's the day of the year, that the village looks the most magnificent.

It was really busy and chaotic, yet peaceful and enjoyable at the same time.

But just in case, I grabbed on Aka-san's hands and led her down the street.

I led her to the Orphanage where Sayo and Ieyasu were waiting for me.

I saw them waving as we came within sight and I waved back.

They had a shocked expression on them when I arrived at the entrance of the Orphanage.

"WHO IS THIS BEAUTY!? PLEASE INTRODU-GAH." Ieyasu started yelling before getting knocked down by Sayo with a smack to the back of the head.

"Who is this?" She asked calmly. I tilted my head.

"Has Kaa-san not told you about her yet?" They shook their heads.

"She's the girl I saved yesterday on my way back, I found her freezing and brought her back." Sayo's eyes widened.

"Are you okay?" Aka-san nodded.

Sayo held out her hand.

"My name is Sayo, what's yours?"

"…Aka." Sayo smiled brightly.

"Can I call you Aka-chan?" Aka-san nodded back.

"Aka-chan, where are you from?" Ieyasu asked but was smacked to the ground again.

"Don't call her Aka-chan, it's creepy." Sayo said with a glare. Ieyasu glared back.

"What do you mean? You call her that."

"That's because we are girls and you are a pervert."

"Aka-chan doesn't want to tell us about herself so I don't think we should pry." I cut in.

Ah, I said the name with the wrong honorific. I could feel blood rising again.

"Really? That's a shame." Sayo said with a sigh.

"Wait a minute, he just called her with –chan, this is discrimination!"

"I told you! It's because you are a pervert, plus he saved her, he has earned the right!" They began fighting.

By fighting I meant head to head arguing.

"Why are they fighting?" Aka-chan asked. I shrugged.

"Cause they are good friends I guess."

""WHO WANTS TO BE FRIENDS WITH THIS GUY?!""

"See?"

"You idiot! Take this!" I ducked a snowball before smirking.

"You've got a long way to go my friends." The snowball fight thus commenced.

Snow began flying left and right, other kids nearby also joined it.

It was free for all chaos.

I couldn't help but laugh at the situation until I saw Aka-chan to the side. She looked like she wanted to join in but she was hesitating for some reason.

Maybe she's nervous? I thought.

That's when I had an idea.

"Ieyasu, are the ice sword complete?" His eyes widened and he smiled.

"Hell yeah they are, you want to go?" I shook my head and pointed at Aka-chan.

"We are playing Ambush Arena." I said with a smile. His eyes widened but he smiled excitedly.

"ALRIGHT!" He ran off into the orphanage.

I breathed in and yelled out.

"EVERYONE, ATTENTION!"

All the kids that were chucking snow at each other stopped immediately.

"We are about to commence Ambush Arena, to those who don't know the rules, I will explain it right now so listen carefully." I said.

A few kids were already jumping up and down and pumping their fists. That brought a smile to my face.

"There will be 2 people dueling at the center of a square arena. People on the outside are split into 4 groups. The 4 groups will be throwing snow balls at the team directly opposite of your side. The people at the center will fight with ice sword while dodging snow balls."

These rules sound unfair to the people who were dueling.

But that's only if they were normal people.

"As for who will be at the center, I will be dueling Aka-chan." I said with a smirk.

Aka-chan's eyes widened and everyone cheered.

Sayo began numbering people off by 4's and Ieyasu came back with 2 swords.

Both swords were made of ice, with bandage wrapped around the handle.

The swords will melt under body heat in around 10 minutes, so the game goes on until the handle breaks.

I walked up to Aka-chan and handed the sword to her.

"You don't mind participating do you?" I asked with a smile. She was hesitant but she took it.

I saw a competitive flame ignite in her eyes.

In the short amount of time, an arena was built, a 10 ft by 10 ft area marked by a ditch in the snow dug courtesy of the participating kids.

Aka-chan and I stood at the center, facing each other with our swords.

Kaa-san was monitoring us, as well as acted as the referee's.

The whistle sounded, marking the beginning of a fierce but ice cold battle.

* * *

I ducked under a slash and swung back before moving my head to dodge a snowball.

Aka-chan parried the swing, jumped back to avoid another snowball before smacking 2 more out of the air.

This game is a simple game for the teams. They just have to take out the team on the other side, a simple snowball fight. But for the 2 in the middle, this is a high difficulty exercise to improve awareness of their surroundings.

It is also very entertaining for the ones on the outside and very fun for the ones on the inside.

Usually, it's me against Ieyasu or Sayo, or those 2 dueling, but I'm farther ahead in terms of swordsmanship and I usually win with a landslide.

But not today.

"Aka-chan, you're strong." I said with a smile.

"You too, I'm surprised." She replied ducking another snowball. I swiped one out of the air.

We both dashed forward and was about to cross swords when I heard it.

"GAME!" Mayumi announced.

We stopped in our tracks.

Apparently the snow ball fighting teams had already settled who won.

I wiped some sweat off my forehead.

"Whew that was fun." I said. Aka-chan nodded.

"Alright, SAYO! IEYASU!" Both ran up to me.

"That was amazing Aka-chan, your so strong!" Sayo said excitedly. Aka-chan blushed but shook her head.

"You were amazing too." She said to me. I blushed I bit before changing the topic.

"Guys, do you guys want to go check out the festival?" I asked. They both nodded.

"Then let's go." They ran off ahead immediately.

I sighed but smiled.

"Aka-chan, you coming?" I asked her, she hesitantly nodded.

"Then let's go." I took her hand and dragged her off.

* * *

The entire village was in full blown festival mode.

There were game stalls, all the shops had price drops, I didn't see a single face without a smile.

Kids were running around, parents running after their kids and shop keepers running their shops.

Among those kids, we were there too.

I was following Sayo and Ieyasu as they ran around the stalls, playing all and every single game.

I could only shake my head and smile, that's when I noticed Aka-chan staring at a prize.

It was a simple dart game. There was a large circle placed 15 ft away with 5 rings marked 10, 20, 30, 50, 75. But there were also 5 smaller circles placed within that large circle with 3 rings marks 100, 150, 200.

You had 3 darts, you can use the points you gained to exchange for certain prizes.

I saw Aka-chan staring at a certain prize, a set of gloves. They were white with a strip of red at the base of the glove, it would cover her hand all the way up to her elbow. The color scheme also matched Aka-chan's mini-dress.

"Do you want that pair of gloves?" I asked her, she looked surprised but nodded.

I smiled and nodded, I stepped up to the stall.

"For two please." I asked. The owner smiled, he knew me.

"Huh? Who's the girl with you?" I smirked.

"Asking questions won't stop me from taking something from this stall." His smile grew.

"Talking big already eh? Alright, game for two, on the house." My eyes widened but smiled.

"Thank you very much!" Aka-chan also bowed in thank before stepping up.

The owner handed her 3 darts and she began shooting them off. They landed on a 10, 50, and a 30. Not enough for any prizes huh? The cheapest prize is 100 points, the glove is 200 points.

It's among the most expensive, but probably because it's high quality. I trusted this owner, he wouldn't rip off anyone with dumb prizes.

"That was close Aka-chan, you did better than most people on their first try." I said patting her on the shoulder. She was a little sad but nodded.

"My turn."

I was also handed 3 darts, I narrowed my eyes and threw them. They landed on a 100, 50 and a 75. I smiled.

"Gottem." I said pumping my fists.

"Damn, as expected, alright, what do you want?" I pointed at the gloves and he brought it here for me.

"Thank you!"

"Come again!" We waved goodbye and left, chasing after Sayo and Ieyasu.

"Here you go Aka-chan." I handed her the gloves and she hesitantly took it.

"Thank you." She said before she opened the box and wore them on her hand.

As I estimated, it went up to her elbow, stopping just before. I looked great on her.

"It looked great on you." She blushed a bit and hid her face behind her scarf.

"Thank you." I blushed too, that's when I noticed someone I didn't recognize.

A short, chubby man in a formal suit with 2 body guards standing behind him. He was talking to the village elder.

"Who's that?" I asked a nearby person.

"That's a very famous political official from the Capital, he's also a follower of the path of peace. He's a great man and we invited him to the Festival today, he'll be leaving tonight." I nodded. He seems like a good man.

That's when I saw Aka-chan's eyes. They were narrowed, glaring, and full of killing intent.

And those eyes were directed towards the chubby man.

"Aka-chan?" She looked back at me, her eyes no longer like that. The tilted her head.

"No, nothing." I decided to forget about it, probably just me seeing things.

Little did I know, I was wrong.

The day passed by quickly as we proceeded to drag Aka-chan through town, playing games, window shopping, eating treats.

It was a great day, one I will never forget.

That night, after eating dinner and cleaning up.

I was knocked out with a blow to the back of the head.

The last thing I saw was Aka-chan's apologetic eyes.

And that, was the last time I saw Aka-chan.

* * *

I stood in the forest waiting for the target.

Oris, follower of the path of peace and political official with a great amount of influence in the Capital.

A man who opposed the Empire from within.

I have been tasked with the assassination of this man.

Yesterday, I was scouting out the route and place for assassination when a blizzard came out of nowhere.

I was buried under the snow.

I was not ready to die yet, but as the cold engulfed me, I lost my strength and nearly gave up.

But that boy saved me.

Ah…

What was his name again?

I felt blood rushing to my face. I forgot to ask the name of the one who saved me.

I heard the snow crunching and the sound of a danger beast pulling a cart.

The target is here.

I pulled out Kiriichimonji and prepared myself.

The cart passed slowly by the roadside where I hid. He had 2 guards, both of which are walking alongside the cart.

I saw the one on my side yawn and jumped out.

His eyes were closed so he had no time to react even if he heard me.

He never had the time to scream as his head hit the floor.

I flipped over the front and stabbed the other guard in the stomach. He grit his teeth and tried to grab me but I flipped away.

He tried to stop the blood, but it was futile. His wound will never close or heal, he will die in a few minutes.

I ignored him and opened the curtain that was at the front of the cart.

The chubby man was asleep. My face was emotionless as I chopped off his head.

"Mission accomplished."

I left his body in the cart and sat on the danger beast, riding it back to base.

I looked at my hands.

The white gloves were red now, but it can be washed off.

I felt warm on the inside when I looked at these gloves.

I will never forget that boy. He was nice and strong, an interesting boy.

But I doubt I will ever meet him again.

After all…

I, Akame, am an assassin working for the Empire.

* * *

I woke up slowly.

"Aka-chan, huh?"

Why did I remember a girl from so long ago?

I felt warmth coming from my side and looked towards the source.

Akame was sleeping beside me.

That's right, today I'm leaving to fight Hayami.

I looked at that sleeping face, it reminds me of her.

That same black silky hair, those piercing red eyes.

They were too similar, maybe that's why I love Akame, maybe because she reminds me of Aka-chan.

Wait a minute, Akame, Aka-chan.

Same looks, great skill with swords, large appetite.

They are way too similar.

My eyes widened to epic proportions.

I am not a dense guy. Which is exactly why I have no idea how I never made that connection.

I felt her moving. Maybe she woke up?

She rolled and turned to face me, her eyes still closed.

I smiled, whatever, it doesn't matter.

All that matters is.

"I finally found you, Aka-chan."

* * *

 **MERRY BLOODY CHRISTMAS, AGAIN.**

 **Thank you for reading this special chapter, hope you enjoyed, it's nearly double the usual length but that's because I didn't want to split it into 2 chapters.**

 **I think the hardest part about this Chapter to write was in fact, the village setting. I really couldn't decide on how technologically advanced it should be, but I hope you guys accepted the setting.**

 **Anyways, merry Christmas, if you guys want to send gifts please remember to send it to *** ******* **** *** ****** ** *****. (Yes I'm doing this on purpose)**

 **Thank you all for a great 2016, I really appreciate all the support you guys have given me, thank you all. See you guys next year!**

 **Thank you Very Much – BzS**


	30. Chapter 30 - Battle of the Duel Wielders

**Don't worry guys, I didn't get hit by a car again or anything.**

 **Sorry for the like 2 month delay, but I'm back, the last 2 months were the busiest days I've ever had in my life and it was an exhausting experience.**

 **But nobody really cares, so let's just get to the story.**

* * *

I pulled my sword out of his gut and he fell limp onto the ground.

I looked around, the field that once was lush green is now blood red.

Bodies laid everywhere.

"This is a first, I never thought I would kill so many people in such a short amount of time." I said out loud for no particular reason.

I swung my arm and sliced down an arrow aimed at my neck.

"You really are ruthless aren't you, what if I didn't notice? I would've died." I said turning to Hayami.

"That's the point, I'm trying to kill you. And if a weak little arrow like that killed you I would be sorely disappointed." I nodded. There was no way that arrow would escape my senses.

For some reason, I speak to her like I know her, even though I really don't know anything about her, it just seems natural. But its not like I'm holding back because of that, since in the end…

She is my enemy.

"Enough chit chat, Hayami, prepare yourself, you are coming with me dead or alive." I yelled.

"That's something the bad guy would say." She replied with a deadpan.

"Being the bad guy isn't bad once in a while." I said with a smirk before I blinked right in from of her. I swung my sword diagonally down, she leaned to the right and dodged, but Fenrir followed closely behind. She blocked Fenrir with her bow and instead swept at my feet.

I jumped up to dodge, she pulled back her bow and shot a brown arrow point blank at my chest. I brought up my knee and knocked her bow up while leaning back, the brown arrow went right past my face.

She jumped back and started running away towards the forest.

I wiped some sweat off my forehead, this girl is extremely dangerous. Her reaction times are insane, probably even faster than Akame. She is flexible and thinks outside the box, not to mention her techniques and the options provided by her Teigu.

If I didn't have the ability to fly I would've died in that last exchange.

"Shinatsuhiko, I truly appreciate you being my Teigu." I whispered before chasing after her.

She is somewhere in the forest right now, and oddly enough, I can't seem to sense where she is.

Guess all I can do is proceed with caution. I thought to myself and slowly walked in.

Leaves crunched beneath my feet as I walked through the dark forest. The trees were tall and the leaves were thick enough to virtually block out all the sunlight, it was dark and quite difficult to navigate through.

I completely lost track of her, but how? Where did she g-

My eyes widened and I quickly turned around and swung my sword, but I was too late, the arrow pierced my left arm. I quickly pulled out the arrow and looked around. Where is she?

Thank god the arrow didn't hit my wrist nor any important muscles, so I can still use my sword, but that isn't the biggest issue right now. I sent an arc towards where the arrow came from, but it only sliced through a few trees.

Another arrow came from the opposite direction, this time I managed to slice it before I reached me, but I still have no idea where she is.

Can she make her arrow bend? But that still doesn't explain why I can't sense her.

Arrows began raining on my position and I decided to run.

I dashed through the trees as arrows fell where I was an instant ago. I was dodging arrows and trees while trying to find where she is, but it's impossible, the arrows keeps coming from who knows where, they just appear in my 'Eye' from random places. I grit my teeth as another tree appeared right in front of me.

It was too late to dodge so I just sliced it down and blasted it to the side.

It was then that I saw her for an instant, the small open space where the tree once was, I caught her flying for an instant.

I smirked, got it.

I stabbed Shinatsuhiko into the ground and a tornado appeared around me, blocking the arrows.

She's using the trees as shade from the wind, the trees here are large and wide, the wind is also very fast in this forest, this creates a small area behind each trunk.

A blind spot in my sixth sense.

As expected of Hayami, only an archer of her caliber can have a read on the wind so precise that she is able to utilize that blind spot.

But now that I know about it, she's not going to have an easy time either.

I released my tornado and it expanded outwards, blasting away the arrows that were coming towards me. I jumped up, disappearing into the leaves. I closed my eyes and the direction of the wind changed. She appeared on my vision for a moment, and that moment was enough. I dashed towards her slashed at her and she jumped away into a panic, her back smashing into a tree and she dropped down to the ground.

"CHEATER!" She yelled, I just kept swinging at her and she ducked and dodged.

With this, a wild goose chase began as we began battling in the deep, dark forest. I chased her through the forest as she occasionally retaliated. After a good 10 minutes, I began getting tired of this. Losing sight of her wasn't uncommon and she would use that to barrage me with arrows.

Both of us had gained a few scratched but nothing more and nothing less.

I stopped chasing her and she disappeared into the trees. I'm getting a little irritated. At this rate nothing will happen, she's just wasting both our energy. I don't understand why she is running either, and I really don't care anymore.

"This forest, IS IN THE WAY!" I yelled out in anger.

Both my sword began glowing and the sky began to darken.

Wind gathered around Shinatsuhiko and Fenrir began to pulse with electricity. Both elements disappeared and all that was left was a light glow in both swords, as if the energies were compressed into the swords.

I felt arrows coming my way so I spun on the spot, lightning shot from me and fried all the arrows.

I swung Shinatsuhiko with all my might and a HUGE wind blade shot out and all the trees, and I mean all the trees it touched fell. I began randomly swinging my sword. Trees began falling left and right, arrows were fried to ashes if they even got close to me.

The forest quickly disappeared from my sights.

"Tatsumi, what did the forest ever do to you?" I turned around and faced Hayami.

"It annoyed me, if you want to blame anyone then blame yourself." She sighed.

"Let's end this." She said with her eyes on me.

"Yeah, that's why I destroyed this forest." I flew at her at speeds no normal human would be able to see. She side stepped with ease and stuck her foot out.

I felt my feet hit hers and my upper body flew forward, I caught myself with my hands and attempted to flip myself back on my feet, but an arrow flew towards me. I spun in midair still upside down, cutting the arrow in half before landing on my feet.

I saw her move behind me and I sent an air slash at her, but she dodged once again, a black arrow flew towards my feet.

I jumped back, but that was a mistake, my shadow got caught by the arrow and I felt my body freeze.

She pulled back her bow and shot again, this time the arrow aimed at my heart, but that wasn't nearly enough.

Electricity pulsed from my body, frying both arrows and I jumped at her again. She doesn't jump back and we begin a close combat fight.

I swing Shinatsuhiko, aiming to remove her head, to which she ducked, but I spun and sliced Fenrir downwards. She blocked with her bow and aimed a punch at my face.

I leaned back and brought up my foot aimed at her chin. She stopped it with her bow and pulled back an arrow.

It was unavoidable. My foot was still hooked onto her bow and I didn't have time to fly away, this arrow without a doubt will hit its mark.

Which is why.

I let it.

I twisted my body and the arrow shot right through my left arm, nearly severing it. Her eyes widened with surprise and was unable to avoid my retaliation.

Shinatsuhiko sliced right through her armor like knife through butter and I kicked her again, sending both of us flying in opposite directions.

I held my left arm, now with a hole in it, blood gushing out. I've lost all feeling in the arm, but I can still move it slightly, not enough to hold a sword though.

On the other hand, Hayami is on her knees, a diagonal slash across her chest, it was nearly fatal.

"You sacrificed your arm to damage me?" I let out a painful chuckle.

"If I was going to take damage, then there's no way I'm letting you get away without a scratch." I pushed myself up.

She should faint soon, which is why I let my guard down and looked up at the sky.

That was a mistake.

The moment I looked away, I felt a something pierce through my leg. I looked down and there was an arrow through my knee. I cried out in pain.

"You shouldn't look away, even for a second." She said. I saw her standing up, panting and holding her wound.

I felt my knee give out, but I forced myself to stay up.

"How are you still awake?" I said while glaring at her.

"You shouldn't underestimate my physical resistance." She said still panting.

That was when I realized, she was bleeding, but not nearly as much as I thought she was. I grit my teeth, I underestimated her.

I quickly sheathed Shinatsuhiko and Fenrir.

I have one last chance.

I completely shut out all the pain and I lowered my stance, injured right leg in front, left leg behind. I placed my right hand on Fenrir's handle which was on my left waist, and lightly held the sheath with my injured left arm.

Fenrir showed me this move, a move developed by the First Wielder of Fenrir.

Memories are a series of electric pulses between certain nerves in the brain and with certain patterns.

Fenrir recreated the memories that belonged to its First Wielder inside my head in order to teach me this move.

I could feel the electric flow within my body, the pain, fatigue, and thinking. I redirected all my bodies' electric potential into 2 things, boosting my body's muscles, and reaction speed.

Outside, dark clouds have gathered overhead and a huge lightning bolt struck down on me, compressed into Fenrir's sheathe.

Hayami finally recovered from the pain and surprise, realizing my next move is my last, and she pulled back her bow.

"Trump card – Void." She pulled back an arrow and aimed it at me. The arrow tip glowed of seven colors, slowly swirling and mixing into pitch black.

Fenrir's sheath began glowing purple, slowly becoming darker.

Hayami's arrow became engulfed in the pitch black mass and began swirling into a spiral.

"Heavenly Quick-draw – Light Splitter." With my eyes still closed, I drew the sword.

Her fingers left the string and the arrow began flying forward.

But it was too late.

I was standing behind Hayami with Fenrir behind me at the end of my slashing motion.

Her pitch black arrow flew off into the distance, hitting a single tree trunk and expanded outwards in a circles. Everything the black circle touched disappeared without a trace, obliterated down to the atom.

The path that I tread during my attack exploded upwards, purple lightning shooting towards the sky.

I turned around, Hayami had fainted, upon closer look, a single scratch existed on her cheek.

"That single scratch sent enough voltage throughout her body to fry her nervous system huh? The First Wielder was a brutal man." I whispered.

I looked down at my body, a hole the size of an arrow went from my right side to my left, going just beneath my heart but still pierced my lungs.

I coughed up blood, but I felt no pain.

But I wasn't going to let her die here, nor do I plan to die here. I brought up my hands and blew into it, a whistle rang through the air and I collapsed. I felt no pain cause I was mentally blocking the electric pulses and I could still breath slightly thanks to air manipulation, but my body still felt the fatigue.

I was moving too quickly to dodge that arrow, so I just let it go through me.

I saw a shadow coming closer and looked up, Kaiser landed next to me.

" **Oh look at you, you look pathetic, I'm surprised you're still breathing."**

"I'm barely conscious, the rest is up to you Kaiser."

With that, I closed my eyes.

* * *

I woke up in this pool again.

Created by the Trump Card of Mineko, lover of the first Duel Wielder, I named it the Fountain of Youth.

Its ability to bring someone back from the dead can only be used once, and it was used on me in my first encounter with Hayami. But this time, I didn't die, I just lost an arm, lost a leg and got a hole punched through my body.

I consciously regulated the blood in and out of my lungs via air pressure on the fly back and was laid in the pool. It has been 2 days since and I've basically recovered.

As for Hayami…

"Tatsumi, you want one?" She said chewing on a fruit.

"I'm good, where did you even get that?" I said with a deadpan.

"What do you mean? The top of the cliff of course."

"And I'm asking you how you got out of this valley without the ablility to fly."

"I rode Kaiser." I raised an eyebrow at the dragon.

"Oh ho? Aren't you two close?"

" **Shut up."**

"Kaiser, I didn't think you were biased towards women."

" **No I'm no-"**

"Don't worry Kaiser, I promise I'll find you a mate someday."

" **SILENCE!"**

I shut my mouth but still retained the smirk.

"How are your wounds?" Hayami asked.

I pushed myself up and stepped out the lake. A pulse of electricity caused all the water on me to evaporate and I did a few stretches.

I was fully exposed except my boxers, and I looked at my body. The hole in my chest is gone, both my arm and my leg are functioning like normal.

"I think I'm good now, I've basically fully recovered, what about you?" I said without turning around.

She didn't reply, so I got curious and I looked at her.

She staring at me bright red with her eyes swirling.

"Uwawawawawawawawawawawawa."

"Kaiser, what's up with her?"

" **What would you do if you found that black haired girl in nothing but her underwear?"**

I felt my cheeks heat up.

"A-A-A-Akame in her, nonononono, bad! SHUT UP YOU STUPID DRAGON!" I yelled at Kaiser.

" **Exactly."**

I quickly put on my clothes and looked at Hayami again.

"So how are you feeling?" I asked her. She was still red, but she stopped making the sounds.

"I-I-I'm good, I can feel everything now and my brain functions properly. Just so you know, you are really cruel, you didn't have to fry my nervous system, what if my brain stopped functioning?" She replied with a pout.

"I tried my best to control it, but I wasn't going to let you die even if I had to fry myself in the process." She blushed again and turned around.

"So what's the plan from now on?" She asked.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I lost the bet right? I lost to you without dying, so I belong to you now." She said.

I blushed again, why is she saying that in such an obscene way?!

I calmed myself down by repeating 'I already have Akame' and replied.

"We will be going back to Night Raid, and you are going to join and help us."

"I refuse." She said quickly without pause.

"Why?"

"I made a vow to never join a side in a war."

"Because of your past?" She nodded.

I pondered on it, finally sighing, I can't make her do what she doesn't want to, it might bring danger to Night Raid too if I force her.

"But…" She said in a small voice.

"Since I belong to you, you can use me however you want, as long as I don't join a side, it doesn't matter." I blushed again, that obscene way of saying things.

"So your saying, you'll still work for us-"

"You."

"Y-you'll work for me, so even if I tell you to do something for Night Raid you won't complain?"

"Mhmm, I'll do _anything_."

"O-okay, thank you Hayami."

She smiled and looked up.

"So, shall we get going?" I nodded.

We climbed on top of Kaiser and began flying back.

I decided to bring up the issue before it escalated.

"B-by the way, can I please ask you to stop saying you belong to me? It might cause misunderstandings..."

"How?"

"I-I have a girlfriend already, so if you say you belong to me..."

"I see... Well I'm fine with being this." She said with a blush while pointing up her pinky finger.

I tilted my head.

"What?"

* * *

It has been 3 days since Tatsumi left to go fight Hayami.

I was training against Bulat under the excuse of honing my skills, but in all honesty, it was to take my mind off of him.

"Akame? Are you listening?" I nodded.

"Yeah, I got it." I said in my usual tone. But that wasn't enough to fool Bulat.

"Let's take a break shall we?" I nodded. We sat down on the bench next to the training grounds.

"Worried about Tatsumi again?" I nodded.

"He's an idiot really, not to mention a terrible boyfriend." Leone said, sitting down besides us and handing me a cup of tea.

I shook my head.

"I trust him, I know he will come back." Leone smirked.

"Didn't he plan on bringing back the enemy? What if he falls in love with this Hayami gi-"

The sound of my tea cup shattering rings in the area. There was silence that follows.

"I-I-I'm kidding Akame, he would never, ahahahaha." Leone said before walking away.

"Akame, is your hand fine?" I nodded, I had my gloves on after all.

That's when I noticed it.

"Bulat, what's that in your hand?"

"Nothing, just a piece of paper that I found on the ground in the yard, people these days really needs to stop littering." He said before crumbling the paper and stuffing it into his pocket.

"Let's end todays training right now, taking time to think is important Akame." I nodded.

We headed back inside.

It was a beautiful sunny day, I enjoyed going into the forest on these days. It was relaxing and calming, the same feeling as when I am next to him.

We stepped into the dining room and a delicious aroma wafted through to air.

My eyes widened, this smell was familiar.

"Yo." A familiar voice.

I spun around and saw him again.

Tatsumi.


	31. Chapter 31 - Negotiations

"Hey." I heard his voice.

The voice of the person I loved.

"Tatsumi?" I spun around quickly and confirmed with my own eyes, my mouth moving on its own, as if confirming his existence.

"The one and only." He said with his same, gentle smile.

"…" I was speechless, I didn't know what to say, this is the first time I've completely and utterly lost my composure.

He's back. It's only been 3 days, which in actuality should be around the time he comes back, but a mixture of relief, happiness, surprise filled me and I stood there staring at him.

He tilted his head and rubbed his hair, not knowing what to say either. He looked to the side and said quietly, but clearly.

"I'm back." I felt the emotions within me clear up, I gave him a light smile and replied

"Welcome back."

"Finally! I was wondering how long you guys were going to stand there in awkward silence, I was ready to push you guys together if you stood for another 10 seconds." Leone commented with a large smile and jumped onto Tatsumi.

"Welcome back Tatsumi! Did you miss your Onee-san? I bet you did, didn't you~ Don't worry, we will make up for the lost time tonight ~" I suddenly felt a wave of annoyance and caught myself glaring at her.

"Sorry, but a certain someone takes priority right now." He said turning back to me.

The annoyance disappeared and was replaced by joy and I smiled with a light blush.

"Yes, yes, don't worry, I'll let you two love birds do what you want, but make sure to not go too far." She said before covering her mouth and teasingly laughed.

He began walking into the kitchen and we all followed him.

"So? What do you want for dinner tonight?" Tatsumi asked.

"Hmm, we are out of meat, so we planned to go hunting later." Bulat replied.

"That? Don't worry, it's already taken care of." He replied.

"Tatsumi?! Where do I put these?!" He turned around and smiled.

"Ah, there we go, perfect timing." We followed him out the kitchen door that led outside and there stood a girl. She was standing beside a cart full of large danger beasts.

I recognized her and I fell into a battle stance.

"It's okay Akame, she's on our side now."

"What?"

"Yeah Akame-chan, he defeated me in battle and now I belong to him now." Hayami replied with a smile.

The temperature in our vicinity dropped by a few degrees as I lowered my head.

Everyone around me started sweating.

* * *

 **~Tatsumi's POV~**

OHHHHHHHHHHH SHIiIIIIIIT.

WHY?!

WHY?!

Not in front of Akame, not like this, she just HAD to use those misleading words in front of Akame.

I'm sweating, I feel water droplets slowly creep their way down my neck.

I'm so fucked.

"…bury..." I couldn't see her eyes, her beautiful long hair shadowed her eyes.

"Huh?"

She looked up with the same murderous eyes as when we are on missions.

"I'll bury you." She pulled out Murasame and dashed towards me.

I immediately jumped away, but Akame followed right behind. My eyes widened, she's fast, for some reason faster than before. Did she improve over the past 3 days?

Or is she just really, really angry?

Neither is good for my health.

I pulled out Shinatsuhiko and blocked Murasame.

"Akame, please calm down, it's a misunderstand-" I ducked her kick and again blocked her slash.

Well shit, what do I do now?

I turned to look at Hayami, and she was just standing there with a big smile. When she met my eyes, she tilted her head cutely and stuck her tongue out.

"Oops."

WHAT DO YOU MEAN OOPS?! MY LIFE IS IN DANGER HERE!

Think, think, how do I save myself in this situation?

Option 1 – (I jumped back and parry a few slashes) – Defeat her.

Option 2 – (Jump a sweep and block a follow up kick with my arm) – Try and convince her that I didn't do anything.

Option 3 – (I fly backwards from the kick which I blocked and begin trading with her) – I tell her I love her.

Guess it's obvious huh?

She slashes downwards and I block it, using all my strength I fling her sword upwards. She seemed surprise how much strength I put into that and she was wide open for a split second.

In that second I close in on her and pulled her into a hug.

"Calm down, I love you, I didn't do anything." I whispered to her.

Her eyes widened as if she woke up from something and she hugged back, before we released each other.

"Sorry, I got a little carried away." She said to me. I shook my head.

"You're stronger than before I left." She smiled before turning to glare at Hayami.

"Ah, sorry, sorry, I didn't mean it that way, think of me as Tatsumi's assistant, lackey, sister, or something like that."

"He's off limits, I know I can't beat you right now, but I will push myself if I have to." Hayami smiled sadly.

"I'm a little jealous, I wish I had someone like that…" She murmured.

I didn't hear her clearly, so I ignore it.

"So? Akame, what do you want for dinner."

"Meat."

"How would you like it cooked?"

"Roasted, grilled, fried, sautéed, steamed, baked, microwaved, raw."

"So it's up to me huh?" She nodded.

"How would you like it done?"

"Medium rare."

"Would you like fries with that?"

"Yes."

"Sorry but we are out of fries, you'll just have to make do with rice." I smiled and she smiled.

"You guys good with the plan?" I turned around and asked.

Leone nodded with a grin, Bulat nodded firmly, and Hayami looked a little sheepish.

"Can I just have a salad? I don't like greasy foods."

"I'll have her share." Akame said.

I laughed and walked to the cart, pulled off a large bird like danger beast and began preparing for dinner.

* * *

Dinner was very lively and bright, we talked about what we did over the past 3 days, what happened and what the plans are from now on. I missed this atmosphere.

"Where did boss go?" I asked.

"She's probably at the HQ, for the past three days she's been flying left and right, organizing, instructing, and communicating between the different armies and leaders." Bulat explained.

"No one went with her?" Akame shook her head.

"She said we should take some time to relax and refresh ourselves."

"The last battle begins in a few days doesn't it? I'm a little anxious." I said with a sigh.

"Don't be, it's not." I tilted my head at Bulats reply.

"What do you mean?"

"The commencement of the last battle is pushed back. 2 days ago, our western army fought the imperial army in a large scale battle and was completely obliterated. Only 4000 out of the 14000 troops returned alive." My eyes widened.

Our revolutionary army are full of warriors that have fought countless battles, lately we've been on a winning streak, gaining ground quickly and morale is high. Not to mention the generals are all military experts, no way our army would lose this hard.

"What happened?" I asked, there has to be a reason, did Esdeath participate? If that's the case, the army should've retreated instantly.

"A group of Teigu users from the Capital came and completely decimated the army, our army chased the retreating army into a valley, where they were cut off and massacred." Bulat said.

"Group of teigu users? I didn't know the Imperial army had that many Teigu users." Bulat shook his head.

"Apparently, they were brought by Prime Minister Honests son, Syura, to the Capital. They were talented fighters from around the world whom attracted Syura's attention and were granted Teigu's. They were created as a support group for the Jaeger's, but kept a secret, not used until now."

"Their name?" I asked.

"Wild Hunt."

* * *

The moon tonight is bright, a full moon.

It was a cloudless night, the moon shone with all its might and I couldn't help but admire its beauty. I laid here on the roof, staring at the moon as I thought about everything that's happened so far.

It's hard to believe how much has happened since that day I left the village. My life has changed so much, from the old, peaceful, hunting days to the assassinations, and finally where I am today.

War.

Do I regret leaving my peaceful life behind?

Definitely not.

Where would I be if I hadn't met Leone that day in the bar? Where would I be if I hadn't been taken in by that rich bitch? Where would I be if Night Raid hadn't come that night?

Would I be in the army, fighting the Revolutionary Army? Would I be part of Jaegers fighting Night Raid?

Or would I be dead, in a street corner, starved to death.

There's no point in speculating, all I know is that I got more than I ever deserved.

Then there is Akame.

That girl, I can tell, has suffered so much, lost so much. I don't know much of her past except what I've heard from Najenda, but the way she hold herself.

She is never truly relaxed, always on guard.

Except that one time. 3 days ago when she fell asleep in my arms. That was the first time I felt her let her guard down.

Thinking about it made me smile. I love her.

I suddenly felt the door open and someone walked outside. I stood up and looked down.

Akame was following behind Hayami, they headed into the forest.

I tilted my head. What are they doing? I'm really curious, but I don't know if I should ease drop on them.

Then it hit me, is Hayami going to betray us? There is very much a possibility.

That decides it, I need to tail them. I close my eyes, and jumped into the air and ran after them.

They went a good distance from the Base, far enough that I Leone's ears won't be able to hear anything. I stood right above them, slowly descending into the tree tops, making sure they don't sense me, and I sat down on a branch.

They began talking.

"Why did you bring me here?" Hayami giggled.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on betraying you guys nor ambushing you. I just wanted to talk to you Akame-chan." Akame lowered her guard slightly and relaxed her stance.

I didn't see anyone else around, Hayami didn't bring her Teigu's either. Akame probably sensed the same.

"What did you want to talk about?" Akame asked.

"Then let me get straight to the point." Hayami took a deep breathe.

"…LET'S SHARE TATSUMI!" She yelled.

…

""WHAT?!"" I covered my mouth, I accidentally shouted in surprise, thankfully they didn't notice.

What is she talking about?! Share me?! What does that mean?!

"S-share Tatsumi? What do you mean?"

"I mean, I like Tatsumi too, but I know you two are in love so I wanted to negotiate with you."

"Why? Why do you like Tatsumi?" Akame asked.

I really should not be here, this isn't something I should hear.

"…He's my life purpose right now." Hayami said after a short pause.

Hayami sat down and leaned against a tree trunk, Akame stayed standing, but also leaned back.

"I guess I should start with my past huh? If you don't mind a long monologue." Akame shook her head.

"Thanks… Let's see…" She took a few seconds to gather her thoughts.

"I was born in a small but lively village. I had a mother, father and older sister, we were a great, loving, peaceful family and I loved them with all my heart." She said slowly and quietly.

"But then one day, war broke out between nearby tribes, our town was the site for one of their battles. Afterwards, the winning army pillaged my village and completely destroyed my life." She said with absolute hatred.

"You've seen that already, but that's not the end. I miraculously survived the collapse of my house and climbed out. I stayed in the village, eating grass and whatever I could find for a few days until a traveler came and found me. He saved me, brought me with him and taught me everything I knew."

"He was an ex-imperial army general, but then defected and became a wondering hunter. His skill with the bow and arrow, martial arts, and tactics were all top notch. He even possessed a teigu, Speed of Gods – Mercury. He taught me all about Teigus, the history of them, and gave me a lot of Intel."

"One day, while traveling through a forest, I felt a pull in my stomach and followed it, it led me to a cave deep in the forest and inside, I found Artemis. I began training with it, bent on mastering the art of bows and arrows." She stretched out her right arm.

"This gauntlet is part of Artemis." She turned her wrist up. There was a semicircle with a hole in it just below the wrist.

"This hole right here dispenses arrows whenever I want with enough force to penetrate someone." An arrow suddenly shot out at incredibly high speeds and she caught it with her hand.

"It took me a month just to engrain the timing of catching these arrows. If I grab too late, I won't be able to catch it. If I grab too early, it leaves a hole in my hand or scars on my fingers. My hands under these gloves looks atrocious." She said with a sad smile.

"But on the bright side, it is near instant in battle and I don't have to waste time to grab arrows, as for where these arrows come from, I have no idea, probably stored in an alternate dimension or something like that." The mood then turned dark.

"Like that, I thought I found happiness in my life again, training, traveling, and growing stronger with my teacher and savior. But one day, we crossed paths with another war and got caught in it. My teacher was begged by the losing side to lead them for one decisive battle, and he agreed." She grit her teeth and anger appeared on her face.

"But they didn't bother informing us they were up against the Imperial Army. There, a grey haired woman, commanding the Imperial Army, fought and shot my savior with her Teigu and he left me."

Both our eyes widened. Akame even covered her mouth in shock.

Grey haired imperial general, wielding a sniper teigu.

Najenda?

No way.

"The army we were assisting retreated, leaving me and my teacher's dead body. That grey haired woman left her army and they closed in on us. That was when anger filled my body, I took Mercury off my savior's body and wore it. I proceeded to completely destroy that army with Artemis and Mercury."

She duel wielded out of pure anger? I looked down on her and my eyes wandered to her Gauntlet, I never noticed, on top of the gauntlet was a clear, white, circular jewel.

A core.

Artemis is sentient. I closed my eyes.

Now it makes sense, how she can duel wield, why she seemed possessed right after Yoshiro's trump card.

"Standing on top of a mountain of corpses, I vowed right there and then to never let myself suffer the same end ever again in a war. I vowed to my dead parents, my dead sister, my dead savior, and everyone who's suffered the same pain as me, that I would end all wars. How would I do that? The answer came quickly and simply to me, with the power of teigus I would completely destroy both sides of a war, without prejudice, without mercy. I will kill them all, they would all fear me and no wars would ever happen again." She said with crazed eyes and tears.

"That was my life purpose."

"But it wasn't until I fought Tatsumi, that I first began to realize I might be wrong. It was when he stopped me 3 days ago, and offered to save me, defeated me, and gave me a new life purpose."

She closed her eyes.

' _Hayami, let's make a deal'_

' _No.'_

' _I will bring you to my side even if it means killing you. So…'_

' _I already said no.'_

' _If you kill me by the end of this battle, then that's fine.'_

' _I told you NO!'_

' _But if I win this battle…'_

'… _You will join me.'_

' _Why are you so persistent?' He smiled._

' _Because I want to save you.'_

"I plan on following him to the end. He gave me a new life and a new path, it doesn't matter what he wants me to do, I will do it." Akame looked her in the eyes.

"Even if he tells you to commit suicide?"

"If he says so, but we both know, he will never do anything like that." Hayami said with a smile.

"Which is why, I ask again, please let me be with Tatsumi."

A gust of wind blew past and Akame closed her eyes.

"I refuse, Tatsumi is mine." Hayami widened her eyes.

"Bu-"

"Plus this is not my decision to make, if Tatsumi agrees to it and says he likes you back, then I will bury- (Head shake) I mean I will not oppose it." With that Akame turned around and went back in.

"I won't give up! I will work hard to earn his heart!" Hayami yelled after her, then she bowed her head.

She then looked in my direction.

"You heard that? What do you say, Tatsumi?" I sighed and jumped off.

"Both of you knew I was there huh? I thought I was careful enough." I said.

"I had no idea you were there until you yelled "WHAT?!", that kind of gave it away." I nodded.

"That surprised me, who would've thought you'd drag Akame out here just to say that."

"What do you say? You get to have 2 pretty girls with you at all times, think of all the good stuff we can do together." She said teasingly in a cute voice.

"I will say this right now, I love Akame with all my heart." I said before turning around.

"But… I don't dislike you." With that I jumped off and headed back to base.

Hayami stayed there in the forest.

"Did I just get rejected? Or did I just get accepted? Come on Tatsumi, at least give me a straight answer." She also began walking bquack.

"But I guess that means, I have a chance."

* * *

The next morning, I woke up feeling something terrible will happen.

I was rights.

"The Boss is back!" I heard Leone shout and I stepped out of the kitchen.

"Oh? I think this is the first time I've met the boss of Night Raid right?" Hayami asked.

I nodded in response, we headed out to meet her.

We saw the large flying Danger beast land in front of the training ground and all the members gathered. The boss stepped off.

"Welcome back Boss!" Leone shouted with a grin.

"Look whose back!" She continued and pointed at me.

"Tatsumi! You're back safe and sound, good work." I nodded.

"I also brought her back like I said, she's willing to work for me." Najenda nodded.

"By that, I guess it means she's not joining the Night Raid huh?" I shook my head.

"Not officially no."

"It doesn't matter, a comrade of Tatsumi's is a comrade of ours." I smiled, glad she's accepted.

"Hayami, why don't you… Hayami, what's wrong?"

Her eyes were wide. Her hands covered her mouth. Her eyes gradually narrowed and her hand crept towards Artemis that was on her back.

' _Grey haired Imperial General wielding a sniper Teigu.'_

Shit!

"Akame! Stop her!" I yelled and pulled out Fenrir.

Akame reacted instantly and grabbed her hand before it reached Artemis and locked it behind her back.

"LET GO OF ME! IT'S HER! SHE KILLED MY TEACHER!" Hayami began yelling and struggling.

"Calm down Hayami." I said calmly. She began panting, tears welling up in her eyes. Finally, she seemed to calm down.

"You, 5 years ago, last battle of the East. Do you remember the General you killed?" She said quietly.

Najenda seemed to realize who she was.

"Are you… Yeah, I remember. General Borne, an old colleague of mine. He was brilliant and powerful, but defected from the Empire. Killing him was one of my biggest regrets." She said with a voice full of remorse.

"He was my savior and teacher, he died by your hands during the war. Though he assisted the Eastern tribe and led them, his ultimate goal was to call for peace. You killed him." Najenda looked up at the sky and took out a cigarette.

"Back then, I was still loyal to the Imperial Capitol, it was a year later that I defected. His death was the turning point for me, after that battle I began to question the ways of the Capitol. I still remember you, you were brilliant on the battlefield, sniping key members of my army in the midst of battle from the same distance as I could with Pumpkin." She shook her head.

"I should've realized the recent destruction of the armies was caused by you, it was the same way my army was decimated after I had left." Hayami was crying at this point.

Najenda walked up to her.

"Your name is Hayami right? What do you want me to do?" Hayami stopped and looked up, glaring at her.

"I want you to die." She then broke out of Akame's hold and appeared behind Najenda, her right arm pointed at Najendas head.

"Hayami!"

"Tatsumi, stop." Najenda closed her eyes.

"Go ahead, this is your revenge, if killing me will satisfy you and give some closure to Borne, then go ahead."

Hayami was trembling. No one was moving, Leone looked ready to jump in and I was too.

An arrow shot out of her gauntlet and I dashed forward.

But the arrow didn't reach Najenda, Hayami caught it. I quickly stopped myself.

"If I kill you now, Tatsumi will hate me, I will die here, and the war will most likely be lost for the Revolutionary army." Her hand dropped to her side.

"Do you know General Bornes favorite phrase?"

"Revenge kills a thousand men."

"He was right. In my anger, I sought revenge against war. In my revenge, I've killed more than a thousand men."

"Killing you might kill millions, but forgiving you might save millions. I will forgive you, but you better win this war as repayment for your sins." Najenda nodded.

"I promise, this war will be won."

With that, Hayami turned around and ran into the forest.

"Boss, are you okay?" Leone asked. She nodded.

"None of you are to be suspicious of her, nor hold this against her. If she were to change her mind and kill me, you are not to seek revenge against her. Got it?" We all hesitated, but nodded.

"I have new intel, we will discuss the plans once Hayami comes back, you are dismissed." With that, she walked inside, Bulat and Leone followed.

I looked back in the direction Hayami ran away in.

"You should go after her, she made a big decision and talking to someone might help her." Akame said to me.

"But…" Akame smiled and turned around.

"I won't hold this against you, the decision is yours." With that, she also walked in.

I smiled, this is why I love her.

I closed my eyes, saw where she was, and chased after her.

She was sitting by the waterfall, her feet soaked in the water.

I landed behind her and walked up to her. She seemed lost in thought and hadn't notice me. I dropped down behind her and leaned against her back.

"Hiya!" She yelled in surprised. I burst out laughing.

"Tatsumi! That scared the living daylight out of me, what are you doing?" We sat back to back and couldn't see each other.

"I thought I'd come check up on you." She fell silent. We sat like this for a while.

"Tatsumi, what would you do if I had killed her?" I sighed, I knew this question would come.

"I don't know, I don't want to think about it either. All I know is that what you did is without a doubt, in my mind, the right thing, and I'm proud of you." I said closing my eyes.

"She killed my teacher, my savior, and I don't think I will ever truly forgive her even though I said so. But on the other hand, how many people have I killed? How many people loved them? How many people hate me the same way I hate her?"

"If they were to come at me for revenge… how many times would I have to die?" I shook my head.

"Stop right there. Those thoughts are pointless, meaningless." I said.

"But I-"

"Hayami, you said you belonged to me right?" I said without really thinking.

She stopped for a second, but I felt her nod.

"If I order you, would you listen to me?"

Again, she nodded.

"Then I'm going to give you 3 order right now."

"One, you are never to have any suicidal thoughts."

"Two, you are never to let yourself die by the hands of anyone."

"Three, cheer up, you did the right thing, you saved millions of lives today, and fell for you a little bit today." I said teasingly.

She stopped all her movement. The sound of the waterfall covered up the silence.

She turned around quickly and fell down, I turned around and caught her.

She was crying.

I held her, and this was all I could do for her.

* * *

We went back in and finished up dinner, Najenda shared some intel with us, that the last battle is to be determined, but it will be at least another month or so.

After she finished, the table was engulfed by silence. Everyone just silently ate their dinner.

That is until Hayami abruptly stood up.

"I'm sorry!" She yelled and bowed. We were all caught by surprise.

"I know, after what I did, none of you will trust me, but I'm am truly, truly sorry. I will work hard to earn your trust, so please, don't let me destroy the atmosphere of this group!" She said.

Everyone stared at her.

Leone smiled, Bulat smiled, Najenda smiled, I smiled, Akame smiled.

"Hayami-chi, our trust isn't that easily earned. You're gonna have to work really hard!" Leone said with a grin.

Hayami looked up and pumped her fist.

"Yes Ma'am!"

"CALL ME SIS, I'M NOT THAT OLD."

We all laughed and the mood returned to normal afterwards.

* * *

I silently laid on my bed and stared at the oh so familiar ceiling.

I rolled to my side. 3 days ago, her warmth engulfed me as I slept.

"I miss that warmth."

"What warmth." I jumped up in surprise and looked at the door.

It was open and Akame stood there.

"How did you open the door without me noticing?" She shrugged.

"You didn't close it properly." She walked in and sat down on the edge of the bed.

I blushed, she was in her nightwear and cute as hell.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Nothing." She shook her head and replied.

I tilted my head, why would she come to my room this late?

The answer came to me quick and simple.

I moved to close the door and sat down beside her again.

"One thing followed another and we haven't had the chance to talk now have we?" I asked quietly.

She nodded.

"So? Where should I begin?" I asked.

"From the very beginning." I tilted my head. Beginning?

I realized she's not asking for what I did over the past 3 days. But my life.

I smiled.

"This will be a long story, do you mind." She smiled, knowing I figured out what she meant.

"I will listen to the end."

* * *

 **If you want to know what Hayami looks like, google search Skylar Anderson Lady Arrow. Fusionfall fanon wiki page. That's the character I based Hayami off of.**

 **Now I know a lot of you have this question in your mind.**

" **Did this fanfiction just become a threesome?"**

 **The answer to that question is.**

" **Dunno man, do you want it to become one? It's up to your interpretation."**

 **Now – Next time on Blade of Tempest Shinatsuhiko**

 **Chapter 32 - Tatsumi**

 **BzS**


	32. Chapter 32 - Tatsumi

"The very beginning huh? Let's see…"

"I was born into a family of 2, my Mother and my Father. My father was warm, fun and the kindest man you would ever meet, he was my role model and I wanted to be like him. My mother on the other hand, was cold and calculating, very strict and forceful. She would force me to do many things that I hated, but now that I looked back on it, they were all for my benefit and to me right now, she was a great mother."

"My family was very wealthy, probably even more so than the family you assassinated the night we met. But we earned the money through honest means. We never did anything corrupt with it, my fathers kindness and my mothers strict sense of morals wouldn't allow it. In fact, my father used our money to set up orphanages throughout the land. We lived in the countryside, away from the city. It was a comfortable, easy, stress free life."

Akame leaned against me and urged me to go on.

"I can still remember the many things we did. My mother forcing me to study the art of trading and craftsmanship, cooking and calligraphy, communication and even strategy. This was all before I turned 7, mind you. My father would help me through all that, he taught me the ways of life, the need for friends and morals, the need for justice." I couldn't help but smile at the memories.

Then slowly, my smile faded.

"The winter I turned 7, we were traveling through the mountains, our carriage fell off a cliff."

She turned to look at me.

"My father died instantly, the moment we landed. We were then surrounded by people."

I placed my hand on hers and held it tightly.

"The merchants that my dad had worked with betrayed him, they had bought off the carriage driver, he was to drive us off that cliff. At the bottom, thugs and thieves waited. My mother carried me and ran."

"They miraculously lost us, or maybe they just didn't even bother chasing us, we were filled with hope. We got away. But that hope didn't last long."

"The weather changed quickly and we were surrounded by white. I remember how warm my mother felt as she carried me through that snow storm."

I took a deep breathe.

"Her body slowly grew cold, I could hear her whispering to me "it will be all right." I still remember how she tripped and fell, rolling down a hill. Her skin cut by branches, sticks and rocks, but I didn't get hurt at all. Blood flowed free and onto me, it was warm, very warm. But she got up, and she continued."

"In the distance, we saw light, it shone through the blinding snow. We were so close." I hugged Akame and my voice cracked.

"But not close enough. She collapsed, her body fell and her head hit a rock. Her body gradually became colder, and colder, and she never moved again. The snow around her became red, dark red."

I started crying.

"I-I shook her body, over and over. That was one thing my parents never taught me."

"What was death?"

"I didn't understand, but I began crying. I cried, and wailed, and screamed."

"The villagers soon heard me and one man found me in the snow. He brought me back to the village that I would swear to protect."

She silently listened to me, holding onto my hand. I took my time to calm down, and I continued after my voice steadied.

"The one who brought me back took me to the orphanage. The caretaker's name is Mayumi, but everyone called her Kaa-san. There I met my friends, Sayo and Ieyasu, and my life returned to a calm stage. I was happy, albeit in a different way than before, but my wounds hadn't healed. 1 month, 2 months, half a year, a year. As time passed, I slowly forgot to details of my mother's death and finally accepted my new life. But the scars were still there."

"At the age of 8, a year or so after the incident, I began learning from the Hunters how to track, hunt, and fight. But it wasn't enough, they could only teach me the basics as they only knew the basics. I trained hard, polishing the basics, but it wasn't enough for me, I didn't want anything like what had happened to happen again."

I smiled again.

"It seems my prayers were heard, half way through the year, a traveler came to my village. An army General from the North. They were passing by and stayed in the village. The eight year old me broke into where they were staying and begged him to teach me. He agreed only if I didn't break into anyone's house again." I chuckled at the memory.

"He taught me how to fight, the art of swords play. He taught me the most efficient ways to train and created a schedule for me. A few later he left. He came back every month or so and stayed for a week. For the first time since my mother's death, I began to enjoy life again."

I closed my eyes, my smile turning into a frown again.

"Age 9, halfway through the year. He stopped coming back."

Akame squeezed my hand again.

"Just before turning ten, I received news that he had died in a battle. From that moment on, I vowed to become strong. To make him proud, to protect my friends, to survive."

"… What was his name?"

"Cardel, General Cardel." I said with pride.

I then returned to my story.

"The day I turned ten, I forced myself into the hunters group and headed out, desperate to prove myself as a warrior. I chased a snow rabbit into the forest, separated from the group and lost. A snowstorm threatened to occur and I was once again, alone in the dark, cold forest. Just when I was on the verge of giving up on life, I felt a pull." Akame's eyes widened.

"It led me to a cliff. In despair, I jumped off and landed on a hidden ledge, behind it, a cave. Inside that cave I found Shinatsuhiko."

"I trained hard, harder than ever. I hunted for my village and trained. It was repetitive, it was hard, I rarely smiled and I felt myself lost in a cycle. Train, hunt, train, hunt. I began to ignore my friends, the villagers. I was so focused on what I lost, that I lost sight of what I had."

"But it all changed on the 25th of the last month, the year I turn 12. On that snowing day, I met a girl, my first crush."

"Aka-chan."

Akame froze. I smiled.

"I found her laying in the snow on the way back from hunting. I brought her back to the village and helped her recover. She had incredible sword skills, and I felt relaxed beside her, I could say for certain, she saved me from something. The something that was consuming me for 2 years."

"But she disappeared that night after knocking me out. I don't know why nor do I know where she went."

"… Do you hate her?" Akame asked. Her voice felt weak.

I shook my head.

"No, I don't. I don't know why she knocked me out, or why she left, but I'm sure she had her reasons."

"But she just left you, after knocking you out. She betrayed your trust, she betrayed your friendship. She never came back." Akame said, her voice becoming more emotional.

I shook my head.

"I never forgot her. It didn't matter to me that she didn't come back, or how she betrayed me. None of it mattered to me, what mattered more were the memories we shared. To me, it didn't matter that she left me, but what mattered was that…"

I moved my mouth closer to her ear and whispered to her.

"…She came back to me." Her eyes widened and she turned to look at me.

"I could never hate you, Aka-chan."

I kissed her.

It was a light kiss, our lips touched, but I filled it with all the love and gratitude I had for her.

A second that felt like an eternity. An eternity I wouldn't mind living.

I pulled back and she looked me in the eye.

"How did you know?" I shrugged and laughed.

I laid down on the bed and she laid down beside me. I held her hand and pulled her in close.

"Akame, thank you. You saved me from myself. For that, I love you."

* * *

 **This is a very short chapter, but I wanted to dedicate an entire chapter to the past of our Main Character. Not the mention, it is a chapter dedicated to Akame X Tatsumi.**

 **I hoped you enjoyed. The next chapter will be for those Kurome x Wave fans out there.**

 **Thanks guys! - BzS**


	33. Chapter 33 - Power

**Hi guys.**

 **For this chapter, the time between Wave and Tatsumi POV's is different. Hope it's not too confusing. Sorry if it is.**

* * *

 **~Wave's POV~**

I slowly opened my eyes. A jolt of pain shot through my head.

"Owowow." I said while holding my head. The light seeping in from the window was really bright and kind of obnoxious.

"What even happened to me? Did I get drunk or something?" I whispered to myself.

I climbed out of bed and looked around, the headache receding. I was in my room inside the Imperial Palace.

"How did I get here?" I actually couldn't remember anything that had happened. I stepped outside my room into the long hallways and began wandering around.

I walked by Kurome's room and immediately felt an urge to go inside. It wasn't an inappropriate impulse or anything like that, it was more anxiety and worry. But I don't know what I'm worried about.

"Oh? Wave, you're up." I turned around and saw General Esdeath standing there.

"Uh, yes Ma'am." I saluted. She waved her hand and walked past me.

"You here to check on Kurome?" I tilted my head.

"Why? What happened to her?" She looked at me.

"Do you not remember what happened?" I shook my head.

"My head's been aching since I woke up, I don't have a clue." She smirked, as if intrigued.

"Oh hoh? Maybe electric shocks can temporarily block memory recollection… Or maybe large amounts of sadness can cause the deletion of memories. This is truly intriguing, it might be useful later on." She said to herself.

"Umm, Captain, can you explain what had happened?" She nodded.

"You should probably remember before seeing Kurome, she's really depressed right now." I really began to worry at this point.

"Wave. You, Kurome, Run, Budo and I fought against Night Raid at the Arena. Both Budo and Run died." She said.

Pain shot through my head and I grunted, holding my head.

The memories slowly returned.

Tatsumi defeated Kurome and I, before killing Run. That vivid image of his head being chopped off will no doubt haunt me for the rest of my life.

I grit my teeth, thinking about how I couldn't do anything.

"Do you remember now?" I nodded.

"I wasn't able to do anything again." I said, gritting my teeth.

She nodded.

"This world is one where the strong lives and weak dies, Run was just weaker than Tatsumi." Esdeath said that like it was natural before opening the door.

It was a small room, there weren't anything worthy of notice. A large window was in the back, a bed right next to it and a small drawer next to the bed. There was a chair next to the bed.

Kurome sat on the bed staring outside.

"Kurome, you're awake." Esdeath said. Kurome turned to look at us and nodded.

"Did Run really die?" She asked. It took me by surprise, I never thought she would be this straight forward.

"Yes, Run is dead." Esdeath replied without hesitation. Kurome turned her eyes to her lap and went silent.

Esdeath shook her head before turning to me.

"I'll leave the comforting up to you. I will go take a stroll around town, and maybe I can find a spy or two to torture." I nodded and she left.

I walked up to Kurome's bed and sat down on the chair.

"Kurome…" She turned her head towards me.

It has always been on my mind, but she is really cute. Her emotionless face emphasizes her innocence, her pale face gives off a fragile vibe, but her eyes betrays all of that.

Her eyes are always so lifeless, so dull, like she's suffering all the time, like she has never seen a happy day in her life. But right now, it's different. It's even more dull than usual, with a tinge of anger and sadness.

She's sad. She must be dying on the inside right now, losing Run must be hard on her. She may be capable of killing someone in a blink of an eye, but she's still only 15.

I wanted to comfort her, but I don't know what to say.

'Sorry for your loss?' That makes it sound like I don't care.

'Sorry for being useless?' That doesn't sound helpful at all. I'm at a loss of what to do.

"Wave… Will you die too?" She whispered. I almost missed it, but it shocked me down to the core.

"…No, I promise I won't die. I won't let you die either, so Kurome, cheer up." I said. She nodded and turned her eyes back to her lap.

We sat in awkward silence for a while.

"You want something to eat?" She nodded vigorously. I smiled, somethings never change huh?

"Alright, I'll be right back."

I missed the small blush on her face as I walked out the door.

* * *

 **~Tatsumi's POV~**

"Tatsumi, what's your trump card?" I tilted my head at the question.

"Where'd that come from?"

We were outside the base in the forest. Hayami, Akame and I were taking turns sparring, we were taking a break when Hayami popped the question.

"No, I was just wondering why you didn't use your trump card last time in that fight, you could've easily wiped out that army in seconds." I shook my head.

"I devised a new trump card, that old one cost me my memories and I was given a tip to change it." Hayami titled her head.

"Then what's your trump card now?"

"I think it's faster to demonstrate." I stood up and turned to Akame.

"Akame, slice me with Murasame." She nodded, she already knew what my trump was.

She disappeared and appeared next to me and swung down. I felt my body burst and the sword went right through me.

Hayami went wide eyed.

"Wow." I smiled.

"Basically, it makes all attacks go through me." She was astonished, but then quickly narrowed her eyes.

"Then that begs an even bigger question, why didn't you use that in battle?" I tilted my head.

"What?" She looked at me shocked and angry.

"Tatsumi, if you used your trump card, you could've come out of that battle with me completely unscathed. Every time you were about to take damage, you could've completely avoided it, why didn't you?" I took a step back at how angry she sounded.

"B-but the trump card takes up to 10 seconds to charge." She looked at me as if I was stupid.

"It didn't take even 5 seconds for Akame to draw and slice you." My eyes widened.

That's true, I started charging when Akame pulled out her sword. That was at most 3 seconds. I was struck speechless.

Akame looked at me suspiciously.

"Tatsumi, are you underestimating your powers?" I didn't know how to respond.

"Try and use your trump consecutively." Hayami urged. I nodded.

I felt energy build up within me and I released it.

5 seconds.

I tried it again.

3 seconds.

I tried it again.

6 seconds.

It's inconsistent, but it's much faster than the last time I used it.

"Tatsumi, when was the first time you used this trump?" I thought hard.

"The first time was…" My eyes widened. The first time was in the fight against Fenrir's incarnate. That was before I came to possess Fenrir.

"It was before I obtained Fenrir." Akame and Hayami both shook their head.

"Tatsumi, you're restricting yourself so much it's slightly depressing." Hayami said and Akame nodded.

I began to realize something.

Compatibility, the higher the compatibility, the more of the Teigu's power you can bring out.

The teigu's powers is its soul, the wielder is its mind, the more compatible the mind is with the soul, the more the mind is able to control the soul. But both my teigu have minds of their own, at this point I should be able to bring out almost all of their old powers.

There's no reason I should be this weak.

I smirked.

For the first time, I realized my potential.

For the first time, I felt indescribable power flowing through me.

I never noticed until later, but this is the point where I began to lose myself.

"Anyways, Akame-chan, what's your trump card?" She shook her head.

"I know Murasame has one, but I have no idea what it is." Hayami tilted her head.

"Do you know how to activate it?" Akame didn't reply for a while.

"…I think… I have to give up my humanity."

* * *

 **~Wave's POV~**

A few weeks have passed since the Battle of the Arena and I'm getting frustrated.

So much so that I broke my wrist punching a wall.

"What were you doing?" Esdeath asked me. I grit my teeth while looking at my hand.

"… How do I get stronger?" I asked. She just stared at me.

"You can't." I stood up so fast that the chair flew back and knocked into a table, the vase fell and broke.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CAN'T GET STRONGER!?" I yelled at her. My eyes widened in fear. But she didn't glare at me, she just stared into my eyes.

"Teigu – Grand Chariot, it's always in the state of equilibrium. It brings out the potential of the user to its fullest, but it never changes nor grows unless its wielder improves."

"Then how do I improve." She sighed.

"From my perspective, you are already at your max potential. Pushing your body any further may cause adverse effects." I continued to stare at her.

"What should I do?" She smirked.

"I like your resolve. The answer to your question was shown to you a few weeks ago." I began to think back and the answer that came was obvious.

"Tatsumi?" Esdeath smirked.

"Yes, Tatsumi, more specifically, duel wielding teigus." She took a seat on the nearby couch and I stayed standing.

"For the past century, it was thought that Duel wielding teigu's was impossible. Those who tried died horrible deaths, and there are no records of anyone who has done it. But it seems Tatsumi managed to break that rule we all thought was there. Now that brings the question, how did Tatsumi do it?"

"No idea."

"Me neither, that's what makes it so interesting. The increase in his abilities was so drastic that I don't honestly know if I am a match for him at his full potential."

"Full potential?"

"The last fight at the arena, I couldn't fight to my fullest because you guys were there, but he wasn't fighting at his full potential either. I don't know why, maybe he was holding back, maybe he didn't know his limits. But if you are able to duel wield, then you can easily break through your limits and fight on par with Tatsumi."

I was lost in thought. In the past century, who knows how many people have tried duel wielding and only Tatsumi has succeeded. Who says I would be able to do it?

If I fail… then…

I can't even imagine Kurome's face if that happens. I don't want to imagine it.

"Whether you want to try or not, It's up to you." With that, Esdeath stood up and walked away.

Leaving me to myself.

* * *

 **~Tatsumi's POV~**

The chaos around me calmed down, leaving me in the middle of the aftermath.

Tree's everywhere, charred, sliced up, completely obliterated.

I chuckled to myself.

This feels so good, I feel so powerful. The past 2 months have passed like this, every day I feel more and more powerful.

"Tatsumi, I want dinner." Akame said. I wanted to keep going, but I forced myself to stop.

"What do you want?" I asked a little coldly before I forcibly corrected myself.

"For dinner, that is." She thought for a bit.

"Meat." I laughed.

"Got it, same as always." We began heading back.

As we walked through the door, Najenda stepped up to us.

"Perfect, I have a mission for the two of you." We immediately stood up straighter.

"Tatsumi, Akame, I'm sending you guys as re-enforcements for the front lines. These battles are costing us a lot of men and we are slowly losing momentum, we are planning a large scale siege on an enemy fortress in 2 days, we want you two there to assist." We nodded.

"You guys will leave immediately." Akame looked disappointed but nodded.

On the other hand, I was so excited, I could test out my powers.

"Tatsumi?" I snapped out of my thoughts and turned to Akame.

"What?" She held my hand.

"Your eyes look scary." She said. I tilted my head.

"What do you mean?" She shook her head.

"Never mind, let's get going."

* * *

We arrived at our destination in a little less than 2 hours.

It was a large camp by a river in the forest, a good 25 miles from the enemy fortress. As we flew by, I had a good look at it.

It was heavily fortified, and there were at least 10000 men. Taking it will be no easy task.

We identified ourselves and were brought into the Generals tent. He was a man around his 40's, large muscular build and had a proud demeanor.

"Welcome, Akame, Tatsumi. We are very glad you guys are willing to lend us a hand in taking down this fortress."

We bowed and stepped up.

"General, what's the battle plan?" He nodded, glad we didn't waste time talking and got to the point.

"For the past few weeks, we've been sneaking spies into the fortress to scout out its interior, defense patterns, and weaknesses. We've determined that there are 3 roles needed. A group to attack the front gate and draw attention, a group to air drop and take the fortress walls, and a group to sneak into the fortress via the paths we've discovered, and take down the commanders." We nodded. It was a good plan.

"The issue was that we lacked the destructive power to attack the front gate, we also don't have proficient assassins among ourselves which is why we asked assistance from you guys. Please lend us your strength." We both nodded.

"I will join the group to attack the front gate. Akame will take care of the assassination." I said. The general smiled.

"Alright, the attack will commence in 2 days. Until then, you guys are free to do what you want."

We bowed and left the camp.

The moment we left, Akame took my hand and led me away.

We were a good ways away from the camp when she stopped and turned to me.

"Tatsumi, please be careful." I felt a little insulted.

"Do you not trust me to be able to handle myself?" I said a little more aggressive than I intended.

She looked sad and shook her head.

"I didn't mean that. Tatsumi, don't lose yourself." I had no idea what she was talking about.

"What do you m-" She didn't listen and walked away.

Leaving me, confused as ever.

I never saw her again until the day of the attack.

* * *

 **~Somewhere under the Imperial Palace~**

2 shadows stood in the dimly lit room. One was round, like a ball, a man so fat you'd think he's be dead from diabetes or something. The other was a short, small girl.

The room itself was very mysterious. The wall was made up of hundreds of cubes, protruding outward, not one fitting in with the others. The floor was made of several wide cylinders, a miss step might cause one to fall into who knows where. In the center of the room, was a large shrine like structure, with stairs leading up to a large test-tube filled with liquid.

Inside the test-tube was a set of armor.

"This is the so called ultimate teigu? It's kind of disappointing." The short girl said.

"Oh no no no, it used to be much, much, muuuuuch bigger. But thanks to years of reconstruction and use of several teigus. We managed to retain it's original functions and power, but down scaled the size." The fat man replied.

"I see…"

"So? Do you think it's possible?" The fat man asked.

Behind him, a box was on the ground. 4 sets of different objects laid inside. They all radiated power.

Teigus.

The girl smirked.

"Don't underestimate the power of Alchemy."

* * *

It was nearly midnight when the attack began.

With an army of 5000 behind me, I walked towards the front gate. Above us, storm clouds have gathered, hiding the shadows of 3000 people riding on danger beasts.

Akame had a group of 20 with her, probably already inside the fortress.

Akame… She's been avoiding me for the past 2 days. I don't understand.

What did I do wrong?

'Don't lose yourself.'

What did she mean by that?

A bell sounded in the distance.

I pushed away my thoughts.

That was the signal.

I pulled out Shinatsuhiko and Fenrir. A smile forming on my face, not a happy or confident smile.

A crazed smile.

Fenrir began to vibrate and glowed yellow, slowly turning purple. I held it up to the sky.

A purple bolt of lightning shot from Fenrir to the sky, and the sky rumbled in response.

I will never forget that day. The look in my enemy's eyes.

The despair.

An enormous purple lightning dragon appeared from within the clouds.

It roared, causing the earth to shake. In a blink of an eye, it was gone.

The front of the fortress was vaporized.

* * *

Akame poked her head out of the side of the wall and looked around. They were in a meeting room, and no one was around.

This passage way was originally for the escape of the high ranking officers within the fortress. The fact that the spies found this was very impressive. It was not guarded and chances are, when the attack begins, the important people will stream right into this room.

There is still some time before the beginning of the attack, and she really needed some time to calm her mind down.

She's been thinking none stop about Tatsumi.

For the past month, ever since they had revealed that Tatsumi has been holding himself back, he's changed.

He was colder, more bloodthirsty, and proud. Like he was slowly losing his grip on himself, letting that horrible thing drag him down into the dark pits.

That horrible thing called power.

She held her own shoulders, others would think she was cold.

What if Tatsumi allows power to consume him? Who would he become?

Why didn't she do anything to stop him?

The answer came easily, she was scared. What if he gets angry because she wanted to stop him from becoming stronger? Would he hate her?

She was just as confused as Tatsumi. She didn't know what to do.

A deafening thunder and the entire fortress trembled.

The attack had begun.


	34. Chapter 34 - Battle of the Fortress

I pulled out Shinatsuhiko and Fenrir. A smile forming on my face, not a happy or confident smile.

A crazed smile.

Fenrir began to vibrate and glowed yellow, slowly turning purple. I held it up to the sky.

A purple bolt of lightning shot from Fenrir to the sky, and the sky rumbled in response.

I will never forget that day. The look in my enemy's eyes.

The despair.

An enormous purple lightning dragon appeared from within the clouds.

It roared, causing the earth to shake. In a blink of an eye, it was gone.

The front of the fortress was vaporized.

I felt a rush of pleasure.

This is the ultimate form of Fenrir, Kirin.

Condensed lightning with the explosive power of 1000 tons of dynamite, and it has a special characteristic.

Unstoppable.

After all, it is a bolt of lightning, there's no way to block it in time.

The army of 5000 behind me cowered in fear, unable to move. Which is no surprise, who wouldn't fear such power?

I could've destroyed half of this army with just that.

The commander of the army that stood next to me broke out of his shock and turned to me very angry.

"Why did you do that?! What if that bolt struck allies on the way down?!" I tilted my head.

Oh yeah, there are people up there in the sky isn't there? I could've killed hundreds of them if they weren't lucky.

"Are we following the plan or not? The enemy is going to recover soon." I said coldly. The commander glared at me with pure hatred. But he raised his sword and voice and yelled.

"THE GATE HAS OPENED, ATTACK!"

Everyone snapped out of their awe and yelled as they charged past me.

I followed them, running towards the hole in the fortress.

From the sky, thousands of shadows fell down, some got shot out of the sky, most landed on the walls and a fierce battles began there.

As we approached the front of the fortress, the enemy army rushed out and engaged our army.

We were obviously smaller in numbers, they probably had double our numbers and we were already being pushed back. I frowned at how weak we seemed, but this frown quickly turned around as I realized.

I could turn the tide of this battle.

I walked forwards, through the chaos of the battle fields, 2 enemies saw me and charged at me.

They couldn't even come close.

A glowing green crescent appeared in the sky and sliced one of them in half. 2 more crescents formed and flew back towards me.

3 glowing yellow orbs appeared around me, revolving around my body. As the other enemy approached, an orb transformed into a bolt of lightning and shot towards him, he was fried from the inside out.

Like that, I walked forwards into the enemy.

I began mowing them down like a lawn.

Anyone that came within range was sliced to bits or fried.

Arrows turned to ashes.

Bullets were sliced in half.

But that wasn't enough for me. I felt powerful, but I felt bored.

I intentionally allowed an enemy past, he looked extremely angry as he charged at me. Maybe I killed his friend or something. But it didn't matter.

I made no move to defend myself as he swung his sword down, he smiled as if he thought he had won.

Oh how wrong he was.

For an instant, I flickered, his sword went right though me. He had completely lost his footing and he fell face first into the ground.

He turned onto his backside, eyes filled with confusion and fear.

I smiled, that's how it should be.

His head came off his neck with a swing of my sword.

Every enemy around me that saw what had happened froze. I could see it in their eyes what they are thinking.

'What?' That confusion slowly turned into fear, then panic and they scrambled to run away.

Words traveled fast, even on the battle field. The enemy began retreating as the rumor reached the commander.

The rumor that I was immortal.

Bodies fell, one after another.

My thoughts slowly faded away.

I had lost myself.

* * *

He tried to scream, but the blood that welled up in his throat only allowed him to make a disgusting gurgling sounds. Black markings spread from the wound in his neck. He soon stopped moving.

"As expected of Night Raid, that was quick and clean." One of the spies praised me.

I nodded in the response, being able to kill is nothing to be proud about.

As expected, the high ranking officers, some important figures, as well as a few corrupt merchants trickled into the room one after another, only to find the edge of my sword.

The spies confirmed that the last of the important commanders and strategists were down, we were now to escape from the same passage way we came from. Our mission was over.

But I couldn't, I have to go find Tatsumi, it was a feeling, a horrible feeling that something might go wrong, that I might somehow lose him forever.

I don't understand why though, from training with Tatsumi, I'm confident no one other than Esdeath might be able to match him. But this terrible feeling just doesn't go away.

"You guys go back, I'm heading to the front lines." I said. I ran out the door before anyone could say anything.

I ran into the corridor, we were underground for sure since there were no windows at all. There were a few soldiers running around frantically, I killed those that came at me.

I ran up the stairs and immediately broke outside from the first window I saw.

I looked around, on the fortress walls, I could see the shadows of people fighting and corpses falling off the wall. I could see the front of the fortress, or at least the hole that was once the front, where flashes of yellow told me what I needed to know.

Tatsumi is over there.

In the darkness of the night, the torches were the only things lighting the way, but that may soon be taken away by the storm clouds that gathered above us.

I began running towards the hole.

I hid my presence as I ran, so no one noticed me, they were in too much of a panic to spare me any attention anyways. I have no time to waste in fighting anyways, the bad feeling in my gut isn't going away.

As I ran past a certain tent I overheard something that made me stop.

"There's nothing we can do!" A man shouted.

"Send more soldiers at him! He's just one man! He has to tire out sometime!" Another yelled back.

"He's kill over 200 of us already without lifting a finger! Less than 20 people have made it past his shields and those that have literally couldn't touch him!" A third yelled.

"Then what do you suggest we do?!" The second man asked. I could hear the desperation in their voice.

"… Surrender?"

"Guess that's all we can…" I left at that point. I have to stop Tatsumi, I have to stop him now.

It began raining, the rain put out all the torches and darkness swept over the entire fortress.

I became silent. Very silent. Everyone had stopped moving, a single step would alert the enemy where you are, a single step could cause your allies to attack you.

It was dead silent, I stopped moving too.

The only thing we could hear was the rain hitting the ground.

And the last screams of despair. A flash of lightning showed a single shadow moving towards the enemies, the frozen enemies dropped one by one.

He was more than 500 feet away, but I could still tell from his outline.

It was Tatsumi.

A horn blew in the distance, a horn that signaled the end of the battle.

"The Imperial Army has surrendered!"

* * *

The sound of weapons clattering on the ground echoed throughout the battlefield.

The Revolutionary army began cheering as the Imperial army grit their teeth or breathed a sigh of relief.

A smile of relief formed on Akame's face.

'It's ove-'

A flash of lightning, the thunder roared and a scream followed.

People fell one by one. Tatsumi kept walking forward.

A revolutionary soldier ran up to him and yelled at him.

"What are you doing?! The battle is over! Stop!" Tatsumi stopped for a second.

"Over? What is?"

"Like I said, the battle."

"Who said it was over?"

"The enemy general has surrendered, of course it's over."

"Why should I listen to the enemy general?"

"Eh?" The soldier was bewildered.

"Why should I listen to the enemy general? What's he going to do to me?"

"Uh… That's…" Tatsumi scoffed and his wind blade sliced an Imperial soldier in half.

"I'm not done with this battle yet, when I say this battle is over, then it's over. If you don't agree…" He turned his eyes to that soldier. His piercing green eyes caused the soldier to stop breathing.

"… just try and stop me." The soldier stumbled back and landed on his back, trembling.

Tatsumi continued forward.

The enemies began running away when they realized that Tatsumi wasn't stopping.

He was no longer himself. Something has taken him over, maybe it was bloodlust, maybe it was the adrenaline, or maybe it was the power.

He couldn't stop anymore.

Akame stood still as people ran past her. The rain weighed her hair down, some covering her eyes as she stared forward at Tatsumi. They were 200 feet apart.

"Stop." She said loud enough for Tatsumi to hear.

"Akame? Where have you been?" He asked.

"Tatsumi, that's enough, they've surrendered, anymore and its pointless slaughter." He glared her. It hurt, it really hurt.

"Are you going to stand in my way?" He asked. Akame slowly drew her sword. This was the only way to stop him.

Tatsumi began trembling. Was it from anger? Anticipation? Or was it conflict?

"Why? I'm trying to become stronger to protect you, SO WHY ARE YOU GOING AGAINST ME?!" He yelled.

Akame bent down and picked up an object, a metal spear that was dropped during the battle.

"You are no longer the Tatsumi I loved. You are a different man, and I will not hesitate if its to bring you back."

The resolve in her eyes shook Tatsumi to the core, he grit his teeth.

"DAMN IT!" He yelled, the 3 yellow orbs transformed into bolt of lightning, shooting towards Akame. Enough voltage to fry a person, traveling faster than the speed of sound.

Akame stabbed the spear into the ground and the bolts arc'd, absorbed by the metal as a buzz ran through the air.

Tatsumi took a step back in surprise, Akame took this chance and dashed towards him, closing the gap by 100 feet.

Tatsumi swung his arm, the wind crescents descended towards her. The sharpened wind blades that could cut through steal walls. Akame brought up her sword…

And blocked it.

"W-why?" He was perplexed. Even Murasame should be broken by that.

Lightning flashed in the sky, illuminating Akame for an instant.

An ominous aura surrounded her and Murasame. Her eyes reflected the suffering of all her victims.

"My resolve, my sword cannot be broken with your dull blades." She whispered, covered by the pouring rain, but not lost to Tatsumi's ears.

"Dull?"

"Yeah, dull, you no longer fight for any reason, therefore, even if you're duel wielding…"

She swung her sword, the rain flew off of it. She flew forward and appeared right next to Tatsumi.

"…you are no match for Murasame."

Tatsumi blocked her sword with Fenrir and leaned back, he was being forced back. He swung Shinatsuhiko at her neck, but she just jumped back to avoid.

Why is he losing?

Akame brought her foot down, a dropped sword flew up in to the air. She sliced it in 2 and kicked the blade at him, before grabbing the handle and dashed forward.

Tatsumi knocked the blade out of the air and sent a wind blade at Akame, she swung down Murasame and the wind blade shattered.

Why? After he gained so much power?

Akame kicked another sword at him, the sword was aimed at his abdomen. He could've easily side stepped it, but instead, he let the sword phase through him.

5 seconds.

She threw the sword handle from earlier, Tatsumi knocked it out of the air.

4 seconds.

She closed in on him.

3 seconds.

He back stepped her first slash.

2 seconds.

Her second slash broke his guard.

Why… was she so strong?

1 second.

His body wide open, her third slash was aimed right at his chest.

It phased right through.

She was falling forward, his arms wide open. She let go of Murasame, instead, clinging onto Tatsumi and they fell to the ground.

She laid on top of him, hands clinging onto her shirt as Tatsumi laid below her, spread out wide.

"Come Back…"

Just like that, his world shattered.

* * *

'Game', 'controller', 'character'.

These words suddenly popped into my head. I have no idea what they mean, what they are, nor where they come from, but for some reason, I feel like they are the only words to describe this.

I, Tatsumi, am trapped in a glass world.

Standing on the battlefield, I found myself in this glass world, looking through the same eyes, listening through the same ears, feeling through the same skin, but found myself distancing from my body.

It was as if I was playing a 'game'. Controlling a 'character' with a 'controller'.

I slashed through my enemies, baited them in and killed them, all the while something in me screamed at me.

But my 'character' didn't stop.

When the enemy surrendered, I was ready to put down that 'controller'.

But I couldn't, something compelled me to keep playing, an uncontrollable urge that I pressed down with all my willpower.

But it wasn't enough.

My 'character' continued, I continued.

When Akame stepped before me, I felt my entire existence trembling.

I still couldn't control that urge.

I cut at her, fought her, and tried to hurt her. I slowly began losing my willpower.

Soon enough, I will no longer be playing this 'game'. My 'character', will no longer be controlled by me.

The glass world was shrinking.

What was I trying to do? This bloodthirsty version of myself was strong, he could do what I wanted. Protect those I probably couldn't. Save those I couldn't.

I was not needed.

"Come Back"

Just like that, my world, this glass world, shattered.

* * *

I wrapped my arms around her, she was trembling, just like me.

Cold, her body was soft and warm, despite the freezing droplets of water that was falling from the sky, I could feel her warmth.

This was what I strived to protect, my reason for growing stronger. The reason I forgot during that struggle.

"I'm back."

She stopped trembling, her head looked up into my eyes as if confirming I was telling the truth.

Her eyes, they glistened like the moon on that night.

She turned her head back into my chest and began making sobbing sounds.

Tears welled up in my eyes.

What the hell am I doing?

How could I make her cry?

Tears flowed down my cheeks as I hugged her close, hugged her tightly.

And once again, vowed to never let her go.

* * *

We bowed and left the tent.

The battle was over after I stopped my rampage. Looking back on my actions, I really wonder what the hell was going on when I did what I did.

The feeling of annoyance towards Akame I felt back then was like a sharp needle poking at my heart. I will definitely find a way to make up for that.

I sighed, the army general was definitely not happy with me, but he didn't do anything or say anything more than a sharp glare as he thanked us for our assistance and said we were free to return.

"So? What's the plan?" I asked Akame.

She tilted her head.

"Are we going back to base?" I quickly clarified. She nodded quietly.

What's wrong I wonder? Was she embarrassed that she cried?

I mean, this wasn't the first time I've seen her cry, after all, I always comforted her after one of our precious comrades died.

I blushed a little thinking back at her crying face. Her eyes were a soft red, her eyebrows slanting slightly downwards giving off a sense of weakness, her face tilting slightly upward to look at me, the feel of her soft but firm body trembling in my arms and the feel something soft on my che-

My head hit a low tree branch and I fell on my back.

"Tatsumi! Are you okay?" She asked worriedly.

I quickly shook the swirls out of my eyes and shakily stood up, holding my head.

"Yeah, sorry." I said. Her worried look, oh god. Don't blush, don't think, conceal don't feel.. don't let her knooooow.

What the hell was that?

Akame grabbed me by the hand, and began leading me to our ride back. A simple, tamed, flying danger beast. The same one that brought us here.

After all, it wouldn't do if we rode Kaiser here, we'd probably send the entire camp into chaos. Not the mention the enemy.

The ride back was a quick one. 2 hours.

We sat quietly. By that I mean she was sitting next to me as close as physically possible, my arms wrapped around her, her head leaning on my chest and softly asleep.

I closed my eyes and rested my chin on hers, indulging in her warmth.

Ahh, how I would give up the world for this woman.

I can't believe I gave up on this feeling for 2 months just so I could invent some secret moves.

"I'm a moron aren't I, Akame. Will you ever forgive me?" I closed my eyes and drifted off into the darkness.

But right before I was engulfed by that soft darkness, I felt a shift in my arms and a sweet whisper drifted into my ears.

"Of course."

* * *

Of course my wake-up call is a teigu enhanced punch to the face.

I mean, why wouldn't it be? How else would you wake up a harmless, sleeping 18 year old?

It's not like you could just, I don't, nudge him awake or something.

But nooooooo, I woke up face on the ground, head hurting like someone just replaced my brain with a huge block of ice, not know what the hell I was doing on the ground.

Of course, the next thing that happened to me was getting kicked through a few trees before I finally recovered enough brainpower to crawl up onto my feet.

"The hell is going on?"

"That's what I'd like to ask you, stupid Tatsumi!"

"Huh?" I looked up and found Leone standing menacingly before me, Bro standing right behind her.

"I heard that you got drunk on power and ended up making Akame sad. You've got some guts, thinking you could get away with that, onee-san is about to beat some sense into you, so HOLD STILL."

"HUH?! W-WAIT! I CAN EXPLAIN!" I yelled in a panic as I jumped back. I instinctively went for Shinatsuhiko which was on my back, but I didn't find it there.

WHY NOW?!

"Oh SHIT!"

"I SAID HOLD STILL."

"WHERE DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THAT!?"

"Hayami told us, apparently Akame consulted her about it." Bulat said, as Leone continued her onslaught.

"W-where is Akame now?" I asked, still dodging Leone.

"Sleeping on her bed in base, but damn you held her real tight. I had to transform in order to pull her outta your arms." Leone said with a smirk, stopping for a second.

'HOW THE HELL DID I NOT WAKE UP?!' I silently yelled at myself.

"Uhh, I won't deny that I kind of got drunk on power."

"Kind of?" Bulat questioned.

"Guuu, really drunk." I said looking away.

"How drunk?"

"As drunk as Leone every time something good happens." I said nervously.

"HEY!"

"Damn, that's pretty serious." Bulat responded, crossing his arms and looked down in a very serious manner.

"HEY!"

"But… Akame woke me up." I said softly. "I won't let it happen again, not if it means making Akame sad."

Bulat nodded.

"Alright, that's enough Leone, let's head back."

"Fine, fine, though I would've liked giving Tatsumi a few more jabs."

"I'm gonna die you know?"

"Pshhhh, like your gonna die from a few love taps."

I looked behind me. The ground was littered with 2 foot thick trees, shattered at its trunk, laying on the ground.

"Ahahahahahaha."

* * *

We reported our progress after Akame woke up.

Afterwards, we were given a few days to relax and I spent nearly all of that time with Akame. After all, we had 2 months of catching up to do.

After a 4 days, Najenda called us all together again.

"The end is drawing near, for that, we need some final preparations to do. We will be splitting up, fighting separately for a few weeks. I have missions for you guys."

"Akame and Leone, you two will be heading into the Capital. We have several targets for you two to assassinate. Take them out as many as you can as swiftly as possible and rendezvous here. But don't rush, it's okay if a few of these targets are allowed to live. Be sure to come back alive."

"Tatsumi, I will be bringing you back to the HQ, you will be dispatched as support to several battlefields as support. The goal is to speed up the pace of our advancement, also, we can use you as a way of decreasing enemy moral."

"Hayami, Bulat will stay here. Make sure the base is hidden and safe until Leone and Akame come back." Hayami spoke up.

"Why am I being kept here?" The underlying meaning was clear.

"Hayami, you are a secret weapon of sorts. The Capital still has no clue that you have joined Tatsumi. I doubt you want to follow my orders, and I can't send you with Tatsumi, after all, you've killed several hundreds of us." Hayami lowered her head. I patted her on the head and she nodded.

"I personally will be heading back and forth between camps, transferring information, organizing and strategizing. We will all rendezvous back here by the 5th. You are dismissed."

We all walked out of the meeting room. Be back in 2 weeks huh? Akame grabbed my hand and I knew what she wanted.

We walked outside and I pulled her into a princess carry, jumping onto the roof.

We sat down next to each other, cuddling if you would.

"Tatsumi…" She whispered quietly. I smiled.

"Don't worry about me. I promise, I won't lose myself again." She nodded. I hugged her tightly.

"Akame, please be careful, don't take any risks, please." She nodded silently.

"Promise me?" I pleaded. She nodded again.

I raised her right hand and held it in mine. It was warm. I pointed out my pinky and looked at her.

She nodded and put out her pinky.

Our pinkies linked.

The night passed quickly and silently.

* * *

I stood in front of the doctor. On his hands, a pair of white gloves.

Teigu – Hands of God – Perfector.

Gives the user increased speed and precision, allowing the user to perform surgery and healing at incredible speeds.

But that's not all. I knew of its other ability and its trump card. I've memorized each and every teigu after all.

The second half of Perfectors abilities, the power capable of transforming one material into another. An ability similar to 'alchemy'.

And Perfectors trump card, is the ability to create miracles.

Which is why I am standing here now.

In my left hand, a thick stack of scales. The scales from Kaiser's chest, scales of an Ultra Class Danger Beast, tougher than any material on earth.

In my Right hand, a single branch. The branch from the top of the great oak, sitting at the bottom of the nameless valley. A tree that had survived a thousand years at the pits of the windy valley.

"Are you serious?" He asked me. I stared him in the eye.

"Yeah, I am."

I laid the items on the table and pierced through his soul with my eyes.

"Make me a teigu."

* * *

 **Hello Guys and Girls, BzS here.**

 **I'm really sorry for the longgggg wait. Took a long time trying to find my motivation and inspiration, along with trying to find time in my busy, busy, not really that busy school life to finish writing this.**

 **But here it is, hope you guys enjoyed. I made it slightly longer as compensation, hopefully, the next chapter won't take nearly as long to write.**

 **Hopefully!**

 **Seeya - BzS**

 **P.S. If you caught that reference. Good job! Also sorry, that was not planned whatsoever and just popped outta no where when I was writing. I thought, why not? And kept it in.**

 **XD**


	35. Chapter 35 - Rising Action

**Akame's POV**

With my hood over my head, I stood at the entrance of a small alleyway. I hid my presence, so people are just passing by, completely ignoring me.

Human consciousness is odd isn't it? As long as you don't think I'm there, it doesn't matter if you can see me or not.

Of course, this isn't going to work on anyone with sufficient training. But for walking around town, this is more than enough to avoid attracting attention.

I looked down the street, in the distance, I could see people splitting apart. I peeked at the clock that was right next to a restaurant across the street.

Right on time.

I laid my hand on Murasame.

The crowd split, a man was walking down the street. He was covered from neck below in thick iron armor, but had an oddly slim body. There were at least 20 men around him, all soldiers.

Seems like they have really upped their caution. It's expected.

But this isn't enough to stop me.

As they passed me, the man's eyes slowly turned towards me.

General Keliod. My 8th target.

He laid his eyes on me, filled with suspicion. When he saw my hand on my sword, his eyes shot wide open.

Too late.

Blood flew out of his neck. I swiped my blade and blood flew off and onto the ground. Black markings, the curse, began spreading and soon he laid motionless.

I quickly ran away, I could easily kill the 20 bodyguards, but it's not necessary. My target is dead and that's all the matters.

Weaving in and out of alleys, turning left and right, jumping over dead ends, I soon lost my pursuers.

I ended up outside of Lubbock's bookstore. I walked inside and headed to the basement via the secret passageway.

I sat down on the couch and looked at the ceiling.

"That makes 8, adding to Leone's 5, 13 out of the 25 targets are dead." I whispered to myself.

"We are making good progress, it's only been a week."

"Welcome back Leone."

"I'm back, I finished my target." I nodded.

"14 now." I said. Leone plopped herself down next to me and put her arms behind the couch, leaning back.

"That one was a little harder than I thought, the target had like 40 people as bodyguards. It was annoying, especially when they called the reinforcements." She said with a tired sigh.

"They are – crunch crunch – upping their guard, we should – crunch – be more cautious too." I said nibbling on an apple.

"Yeah, yeah, we got another week left, killing another 6 or 7 should be fine." Leone snatched the apple out of my hand and swallowed the entire thing. I sent a glare while pouting, it was a good apple too.

"How do you think it's going on the other end?" Leone asked. I smiled softly.

"They should be fine, after all, it's Tatsumi."

"Oh hoh? Confident aren't ya?" Leone asked happily and teasingly. She wrapped her arm around my neck, locked me in a hold and began ruffling my hair.

"You struck a strong, hot man before I did, Onee-san is jealous you know? How about sharing a piece of him with me?"

"No."

"C'mon, one night can't hurt."

"No."

"Tch. Stingy."

"No."

"Fine I'll just kidnap him one night or something."

I gave her a deadpan look.

"Good luck."

"…Huh?"

* * *

"ACHOO$#% !"

"Sir, are you okay?"

"Yeah, and I told you, don't call me sir, makes me feel old. I'm not even leading you guys or anything." I said, rubbing my nose.

I would say that it's really cold outside, or that the wind is strong and I'm going to catch a cold. But it's not like Shinatsuhiko lets me feel the cold wind or anything.

Let me take a wild guess, Leone is probably teasing Akame about me somewhere right now, probably also along the lines of stealing me for a one night stand or something.

Well, she's up for a real struggle that's for sure.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH."

"Sir, sir?! LOOK OUT!" I tilted my head.

A blade passed through me and the Imperial Soldier fell onto the ground in front of me. I then proceeded to cut off his head.

Holy shit, the Imperial Armies standards are really low. I mean, isn't keeping a cool head, hiding your presence, and basic sword skills supposed to be part of their training regime? I could only sigh.

"Sir! Are you okay?!"

"It's fine, calm down, I'm fine." I said.

I'm standing in the battlefield of course. We had just won the battle, after I went behind enemy lines and slayed the general, the enemy fell into chaos and we won the battle rather easily.

"You really are amazing sir, as expected of a Night Raid assassin." He said.

I'm currently on my way back to base, this soldier next to me who's currently needlessly flattering me is just someone that I met up with on the way back. He was kind of just standing there waiting for me, supposedly my bodyguard.

And as we have just seen, he's really not that good at his job.

That was like the 12th soldier that has tried to kill me on my way back, and all this guy is useful for is comedic relief.

Whatever.

I've been fighting in multiple large scale battle in the past week and a half. Of course, not just in one location.

I've been flying left and right on Kaiser, fighting in one battle almost every day, sometimes multiple battles in one day. I'm really just reinforcement.

But the battles, even though large scale, don't really last that long after I arrive. I mean, who wouldn't be scared if a man just showed up on a fire breathing dragon.

It's my job to break through enemy lines and slay the commander. Other than that, it's fighting Teigu users.

There aren't a lot of them, I've seen 3 in the past week and a half, but even then, they are powerful forces that have been threatening our victories.

I still remember my battles with them.

L'Arc Qui Ne Faut – A bow and arrow teigu that tracks down the spoken target until it hits. Homing arrows, and the wielder can fire multiple at a time. This was what I initially thought Hayami's bow could do, but looking back on it, it is surprisingly weak. After all, they traveled at regular arrow speed, which I could outrun if I wanted to, and I sliced the arrows to shreds when they came near.

Power Surge – Balzac – a mask that unlocks the wielders full potential. Maxing out potential speed, strength, agility, flexibility, intelligence, and several other traits. A teigu with incredible power. But still not a match for Fenrir, which amplifies my current traits, including one that Balzac couldn't improve, reaction time. I simply outmatched him in a one on one fight.

The Mysterious – Adayusu – A scythe, after activation, increases the wielders defenses. The longer is had been activated, the stronger the defenses. The wielder was a slim man, yet his skin was seemingly impenetrable after 5 minutes. Even sharpened Shinatsuhiko couldn't leave a scratch. It was actually the toughest battle, the wielder was proficient in using the Scythe, since it is an uncommon tool, I had a hard time figuring out his attack patterns. But I ended up killing him by stabbing Fenrir into his mouth, frying him from the inside out.

While still caught in my reminiscence, I apparently got back to base, reported to the commander, and was sent on my way.

The Empire really is a force to be reckoned with, the power based on Teigu's alone is enough to repel the strongest nations. If not for the teigu wielders on our side, there's no way the Revolution had any chance of success.

I whistled and Kaiser came swooping down, I hopped on and we flew away.

"Kaiser, how's your recovery?"

" **Hmph, it will take at least a century for my scales to recover to the point of blocking teigus."** He replied after huffing.

"… Thank you."

"…" Wordlessly, he increased his flying pace.

* * *

The Revolutionary Army Headquarters is far, far south from the Capitol.

It is quite a large building. Meeting room, living quarters, hospital, barracks, ect.

I first stopped a random soldiers and told him to report to the top that I had returned and the mission was successful. He obediently left.

I then headed straight for the Hospital.

After all, I promised a certain someone to visit her.

* * *

"Chelsea."

"Ah, Tatsumi, welcome back." She greeted me with a smile.

I looked at her mouth, the stick of a lollipop dangled from her mouth.

"Hey, you aren't allowed candy until you've recovered." She pouted.

"C'mon, one lollipop isn't going to hurt anyone."

"That's what you said last time, you had 6 in an hour." She huffed and looked away.

"It's fine, it calms me down."

"For what? What kind of heavily stressed life are you living in this hospital?" I asked sarcastically.

She looked a little saddened and turned away.

"Worrying about you and everyone else while being powerless, sitting in a white bed day and night. That kind of stressed life." She said quietly, but I heard it and instantly felt really guilty.

"S-sorry, I was a little insensitive." Her shoulders began shaking and she took quick breathes.

Oh god no.

"Uhhh, Chelsea I didn't mean what I s-" She burst out laughing and I could only stare at her and sigh.

Her personality definitely didn't change after that near death experience. Her left hand had prosthetic fingers, her right arm is also prosthetic. I'm sure if you took a look at her chest, there would be a scar from the bullet wound too, and the doctor said that she still has occasional breathing issues, as the tissues have yet to fully repair.

Although she is as mischievous and lively as before, it is also very obvious she was silently cursing herself for being unable to do anything right now.

I sat down on the chair next to her bed. I took the tray that was set next to her bed, a bowl of soup and a piece of bread, her lunch, presumably, and placed it on my lap. She finally stopped laughing and looked at me.

"Oh? Tatsumi, are you going to feed me?" I smirked.

"What happened last time you tried eating by yourself?" That shut her right up, she blushed and looked away.

"S-Shut up." She was still not used to her prosthetics, operating them right now, she described, is like wielding a sword for the first time. Let's just say the last time she tried didn't end well, more specifically, it involved a bowl of spaghetti, an old lady, a dead danger beast, a machine gun, 4 angry nurses, and a half eaten potato.

"Here." She opened her mouth and furiously ate the food.

"It's like you're my lover or something." She grumbled. Of course, I saw the blush.

"Nuh uh ma'am, I already have a girlfriend."

"Yes yes, Akame-chan right? You've already told me like 4 times." It's my turn to blush now.

What's wrong with bragging about your cute girlfriend?

"I always thought you'd end up with like Mein or something." I tilted my head.

"What?"

"I mean, you guys fought day in and day out, so I thought, 'hey, maybe they'd fall in love', or something. Guess you're more into quiet, cute little creatures huh?"

"Yeah, quiet, cute little creatures that could murder my ass any day of the week, not to mention her appetite."

"Admit it, it's like feeding a starving puppy."

… she is soooo right.

I mean, Akame would tilt her eyes up just slightly, looks me dead in the eye with eyes filled with hunger, as if begging me to feed her.

I mean, if I was a danger beast, I would probably cook myself.

"Can't even deny that…" I mumbled.

"What's that?"

"Nothing." I then turned my attention back to the topic.

"… How's Mein doing?" She shrugged.

"As good as ever. After she was brought in, she immediately got a prosthetic installed. She was depressed about Pumpkin being unrepairable. Even though she went off on how 'She's sick of fighting anyways.' It's been pretty obvious recently that she's anxious about the war. You should go talk to her later." I nodded.

I finished feeding her the soup.

"Here." And shoved the bread into her mouth before standing up.

"Mphmphmpmphhp!" She screamed with surprise, before spitting the bread out.

"What was that for?!" I shrugged.

"I have to go put your tray away, talk to Mein and I think the messenger for my next mission is going to come soon." I said before walking away.

"A-ah! What about the bread!?" She yelled.

"Think of it as practice."

"P-practice? W-WHAT?! WAIT, TATSUMI! COME BACK! TATSUMI!"

I promptly shut the door behind my back.

* * *

I handed the tray to a random soldier as I walked out, told him to go put it away. Before heading to the next room. I knocked on the door and waited.

"Come in." I heard a voice reply, so I opened the door and walked in.

"Oh, It's just Tatsumi…"

"What do you mean, just Tatsumi."

"Exactly what I said, idiot." She huffed and turned away.

"Member of Night Raid really don't give a shit about near death experiences do they? Don't know what I expected."

"That's right! We, as the elite members of the Revolutionary Army, have to be tough, so don't go crying after every failure, got it?!" Why am I being yelled at?

"Yeah, yeah, how are you feeling?" I asked, leaning against the door and looking at her.

Mein had her hair down, giving her somewhat of a weaker look, but that's definitely not the case. Her left arm was a prosthetic, but she's a little better off compared to Chelsea, since her dominant arm and hand are still functioning.

"I-I'm fine, I'm not so weak that I'd need you to worry about me." She huffed and grumbled.

"I see..." Silence enveloped the room, I really don't know what to talk to her about.

"…How is… the war going?" I shrugged.

"It's proceeding smoothly, I'm expecting the end to be near, and hopefully the war would be over by next month."

"I see…" She seemed really hesitant.

"If you have something to say, then say it, it's not like you to hesitate." I said. She looked away, which surprised me as I expected a stronger reaction.

"Sorry, but… it's really frustrating."

"What is?"

"Being unable to do anything."

… Chelsea was right huh?

I waited for her to continue.

"… I'm actually a half-foreigner, born on the west borders of the Empire, my father was a man from the west. Because of that, I was bullied against…" I quietly listened.

"The reason I joined the Revolutionary Army, was because they promised to build Diplomatic relationships with the neighboring nations. Hoping that it would prevent people like me from being discriminated against, that was my goal…" She blushed.

"O-Of course I also wanted to be wealthy and get back on all those who bullied me, yeah, that's right, I wanted to be at the top of the social ladder so no one else could ever look down on me!" She said in a panicked, forceful tone, before quieting back down.

"Fighting with Pumpkin, those were honestly the best days, I felt like I could make a difference, help change this world. But now…" She clenched her right fist, her left twitched, slowly closing.

"The war is nearing its end, the battle more dangerous and important than ever, and at a time like this, I lost Pumpkin, lost my power. How could I not be frustrated?" She said.

Mein is a strong girl. But, her strength and stubbornness is her weakness right now.

"You've done more than enough, you and pumpkin helped bring us to where we are right now. We, Night Raid, your comrades, will take it to the end. So cheer up, when we win this war, you will become rich and famous, with hundreds of servants, a huge mansion and everything you want. Then for the rest of your life, you can sit on your throne and laugh your head off." I said with a laugh, before opening the door and taking a step out.

"Tatsumi!" She stopped me.

"End this war, you better end this war before any more of our comrades leave us, if you let anyone else die, I will murder you in your sleep." She said. I smirked.

"Yeah, leave it to me."

I closed the door behind me.

Today, both of us took a step forward.

* * *

 **Akame's POV**

I ran through the forest, trying to shake off my pursuers. But they are really persistent. At the very least, I have to get far enough from the city so that they can't call in reinforcements.

I saw ducked a dagger and continued running. The blood on Murasame is beginning to dry.

I had just killed my 13th target, General Richelieu.

But, this time, there were over 50 guards, as well as over 10 assassins.

I managed to kill Richelieu when he snuck away from his guards for a drink, but the assassins that were still around attacked.

I jumped out of the tree line into a clearing, a small area free of tree's and raised my sword.

"Done running?" The voice sounded familiar.

"Don't remember me?" He asked. A man walked out, his face didn't match his height or build. The body of a Teenager, but his face was full of wrinkles and gray hair, but still, he seemed familiar.

"… Kylie?" I asked surprised. He looked, so different.

"I'm surprised you still remember me, after what you did to my appearance."

Me? I did this to him?

"You betrayed us Akame, so many of us died by your hand, I out of spite overdosed on my booster drug and nearly died, this is the result. And today, I will pay you back for what you did, don't think this will be painless." He said, pulling out a pill, he put it in his mouth and chomped down.

From the forest, I heard several other similar crunches and immediately jumped out of the way. 10 people were standing where I was a second ago.

Booster Drugs, developed by Dr. Stylish and the Empire, temporarily increases the user's attributes past their limits. But the side effects…

An image of Kurome flashed through my head and I narrowed my eyes.

If Kurome continues down this path, her death will be painful. I can't let that happen. But first..

I held Murasame in front of me.

"I will bury you."

All 10 dashed towards me one after another, Kylie following behind. They were fast, really fast, definitely on par with me. I blocked the first swing and felt my arm go slightly numb, when I swing back they immediately got out of the way.

They were fast and strong, and they have numerical advantage, not to mention they are wearing light armor from head to toe.

But this wasn't enough. A pair of assassins came my way, each wielding a spear, slipped in between their jabs and swung my sword, they both jumped out of the way, barely avoiding it.

A slash aimed at the joint of the armor, where the steel plates met and there is clothe instead of steel. A single scratch, barely enough to draw blood.

But that was all that's necessary.

"GUH, NGGGH." The assassin groaned before falling to the ground motionless, her partner yelled in anguish and ran at me.

Losing your cool in a battle is fatal. I immediately closed the gap and sliced at her joint, cutting off her arm and she died from the curse.

2 months' worth of sparring with Tatsumi and Hayami, both with speed on a next level, taught me how to deal with enemies that are fast. Compared to those 2, these guys were no faster than a arrow.

Seeing two of their comrades dead, I could feel the anger radiating off of the rest. That would be their downfall.

"I, will bury you."

* * *

 **Wave's POV**

Night Raid, the assassins group terrorizing the Empire and its Capital.

I was called in as reinforcements for a group of assassins guarding General Richelieu, whom is now dead.

Without a doubt, it's Night Raid, only they can bypass 50 guards and 10 elite assassins.

I will bring them to justice for sure, for Bols, for Seryu, for Run.

I heard sword clashing in the distance, and sped up my pace.

I approached the edge of a clearing, jumping right up and into the sky.

What came into sight was a clearing dyed red with blood, 10 or so bodies laid on the ground. In the center, a woman was holding someone wearing the Empires Assassin uniform.

I faintly heard a voice.

"You can rest now, Kylie."

"GRAND FALL!" I yelled and drop kicked at Akame.

She jumped out of the way and dust filled the air as I shattered the earth, creating a large crater.

I swung my hand and the dust dispersed. Akame placed Kylie's body on the ground before turning to me.

"You are… Wave right?"

"Yeah, Akame of the Night Raid, prepare yourself, you won't be leaving here alive today."

She stood motionless, her face and body covered in blood.

"When you head back, remember to retrieve these bodies and give them a proper burial. They may have been enemies, but we were once on the same side." She said after a few moments.

My eyes widened in anger and I couldn't hold it in.

"Then why did you kill them!? Why did you betray the Empire and your own sister?!"

She caused Kurome to be hurt, became Kurome's enemy and forced her into the cruel fate of having to kill her beloved sister.

"… I used to follow the Empire and my orders without a question. But even back in the Elite Seven, I always held doubt towards the empire. To me, Kurome was more important than the empire, and the empire which had split us apart for years, I wasn't able to follow it with no doubts." Akame said.

Akame had no idea why she was explaining to Wave either, maybe it was to convince him to follow her orders, or maybe she felt that Wave was obligated to know.

"After years of assassinations, my distrust towards the Empire and its ways grew. Eventually, I began feeling disgust towards the Empire. That was when Najenda, she persuaded me to join her and the revolutionary army."

"AND YOU ALLOWED HER TO CONVINCE YOU TO BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY?!" I yelled.

"… Rather than follow what I thought, no, knew was wrong and end up killing hundreds that I shouldn't kill, and maybe even causing thousands more to suffer, I decided to hurt the few close to me and apologize to them later in hell."

She's wrong. She's wrong. There's something wrong with her, she's beyond all hope.

"Wave, pass a message to Kurome for me." I glared at her, what is she planning?

"Why should I do that for an enemy?" I spat out with as must spite as possible. But she didn't react at all.

"This isn't a message from Akame of the Night Raid, but Akame, Kurome's sister. Tell her that 5 days from now, I will meet her at the usual place." I grit my teeth.

"What do you plan to do if she shows up?"

"Without a doubt, it would be a duel to the death."

"DON'T FUCK AROUND WITH ME!" I yelled.

"LIKE HELL I WILL PLAY ALONG WITH YOUR GAME AND SEND KUROME INTO A TRAP!"

"…" She was silent.

"You are messed up, I won't let Kurome meet you, and you will die here." I got into my fighting stance.

"Kurome doesn't have long to live does she?" I sucked in a breath as a memory popped into my mind.

I was sitting by Kurome's bed, I carried her there after training. She was exhausted and had fallen asleep.

Her hair, long, black, and falling off. The feeling of despair as I held a wad of her hair in my hands…

"SHUT UP!" I yelled and dashed forward, aiming a punch at her head.

She ducked and dodged, occasionally slashing at me, which I blocked with my arm. One-Cut Killer – Murasame, even the slightest scratch is fatal, but with a full body armor like Grand Chariot, she will never be able to cut me.

I continued to punch her over and over, but she would always dodge and counter attack.

"It's futile! You can't break my Grand Chariot, so just accept your fate already."

She ducked diagonally under my kick and kicked me in the chest, I skidded back. She is so damn strong.

"As you are now, you will never be able to beat me." I grit my teeth. I haven't even touched her since the beginning of the battle. If my teigu wasn't Grand Chariot I would've been long gone.

But still, she will eventually tire out, I'm confident I have more Stamina than her.

Little by little, I will push her until she shows me an opening.

Once again, I jumped up high into the air and drop kicked down. She jumped up, avoiding my kick and swung her sword and once again I blocked with my gauntlet.

*crack

Huh?

I jumped back immediately and inspected my armor.

On my left gauntlets, there was a tiny crack, barely noticeable, but…

"You've… been striking at the same spot?"

"Long ago, my dear comrade died by the same method. No matter how strong your armor is, I will break it little by little until it eventually breaks off. When that time comes." She held her sword up by her face, Murasame pointed at me.

"You will die by my sword."

Don't fuck with me…

"DON"T FUCK WITH ME!"

But, it was inevitable.

Slowly but surely, my armor cracked, broke, and slowly fell off. One single spot on my gauntlet, but it would be fatal.

She sheathed her sword and turned her back on me.

"Pass that message to Kurome. Even if you don't, Kurome will definitely ask you about it after knowing that you fought me." She said and walked off.

"Damn it. DAMN IT!" I punched the ground with all my might, shattering the earth.

In the end, I couldn't land a single hit.

* * *

After several more punches, I headed back to the Palace.

I walked down the hall towards my room.

"No matter what happens, I can't let Kurome find out…" I whispered to myself.

"Can't let me find out what."

"Wah!" I yelled out in surprise.

I looked at the girl who just scared the soul out of me. Short stature, black hair, seemingly frail body. An incredibly cute girl, I felt blood rising to my head."

"K-Kurome, you are going to give me a heart attack."

"You're too oblivious to your surroundings, what if I was an assassin?" She said with a disappointed look.

"Guu… Sorry." She stepped up beside me and we began walking.

"So? Where did you go?"

"Uh- I headed outside to do some training." I said.

"Hmmmm? With who?"

"… Captain Esdeath." I said as quickly as I could." She stopped walking.

"Wave, if you want to lie, at least try to be believable." She said.

"Eh? H-how did you know I was lying?" She sighed.

"So you really were lying…"

… I just got tricked.

"Why were you lying?" I looked away. I can't tell her that I was sent out to fight a Revolutionary army assassin. I chose to stay silent.

She waited, but I didn't answer. A saddened look appeared on her face before it returned to being monotone.

"I already know you were sent as backup for my old assassin buddies who were protecting a General. Esdeath already told me when I asked where you were."

My eyes widened, no, please no.

"Recently, generals have been dropping one after another in the Capital. It seems there are 2 Night Raid assassins in the city, Leone and Onee-chan, we can tell that much from how the Generals died."

Stop, stop it.

"If you fought against Leone, you wouldn't be without a scratch like you are now."

"Stop!" I yelled in a desperate attempt to stop her.

"You fought and lost against Onee-chan didn't you."

I fell to my knees. Why? How did she find out so fast?

"Wave… What did Onee-chan say to you?" She asked.

' _Pass that message to Kurome. Even if you don't, Kurome will definitely ask you about it after knowing that you fought me.'_

Why? Why can't I do anything? I can't let them meet, I can't let them kill each other.

I can't let Kurome die, not when I can do something about it.

"I can't. I refuse to tell you." I whispered and ran. I ran down the hall and into my room, slamming the door shut.

I heard footsteps stop outside the door.

A faint voice drifted through.

"Onee-chan wants to meet me doesn't she? I can tell that much, call it a sisters intuition. As for the meeting place, I roughly have an idea, Onee-chan will definitely call me to usual place. I don't know the time, so I will head there every night until I meets her." She said.

No. Nonononononononononononono.

I threw the door open and grabbed Kurome by the shoulders.

"You can't! It's definitely a trap! You'll die!" I yelled into her face. I was panicking, I don't know what to do anymore.

"Onee-chan won't do that, she will definitely fight me one on one. If I die by Onee-chan's hands, then that's fine with m-"

"STOP! DON'T SAY IT!" I yelled. I embraced her, holding tightly on her thin, frail body.

I can't let her go. Even if I have to tie her up, or drug her, I definitely can't let her go.

"Wave, I can't breathe."

"You can't go, I promised I would protect you, I won't let you go."

"Wave…" She relaxed in my arms and I slowly released my grip.

"Wave… I don't have much longer to live." She said. My eyes widened.

She pulled out a cookie.

"I can feel it you know? These drugs are slowly killing me. I probably won't live until my next birthday."

"I won't let that happen. I will end this war, then with all my rewards I will take you to every fucking doctor in the world. I will find a way to increase your lifespan even if I have to give up my own." I said strongly, gritting my teeth.

She shook her head.

"I have 2 reasons to live. Fighting for the Empire, and my sister."

"THEN WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO KILL HER?!" I yelled in desperation. She's giving up, I can't let her give up on her life.

"If I kill her, or if she kills me, we won't be enemies any longer. Whoever dies will live in the others heart. Onee-chan wants to release me from the pain I'm suffering from these drugs. I want to release the burden she is carrying from all the lives she took."

"That's messed up, you guys are wrong."

She giggled.

"We probably are… but… That's how it is. So Wave, tell me what Onee-chan told you…" She said softly.

I…I…

"5 days from now, she said to she would be waiting at the usual place." I said quietly.

Something hit me.

"That's right, she would be waiting alone, we can ambush her and take her down!" Kurome glared at me.

"I won't let anyone interfere with our duel, even you." She threatened. Her eyes then softened.

"Thank you Wave, but please, let us end this ourselves." With that, she walked away.

I fell to my knees. Looking at my hands.

Her body, was frail, like a glass pane on the verge of breaking. I wrapped my arm around myself, trying to recreate that warmth I felt. But I felt cold, so very, very cold.

Damn it. Kurome.

* * *

 **Akame's POV**

After leaving Wave alive, I rounded back to the bookstore. As expected, Leone was waiting for me.

"Akame, what happened? You're very late." She asked, concerned.

"My target was heavily protected, I still killed him, but ended up being chased by Assassins out of the city. I killed them all." She nodded.

"My target was also heavily guarded. It seemed doable but risky, so I decided to retreat."

"That makes 23 out of the 25 targets." I summed up.

"That should be enough, let's head back, Tatsumi should be coming back the day after tomorrow."

I nodded. I miss him.

Somehow, Leone read what I was thinking and pulled my into a headlock.

"Don't worry Akame, Onee-chan will play with you until you cute little boyfriend comes back. I will make sure you don't feel lonely, okay?" She said giving my hair a ruffle.

I smiled, indulging in the warmth Leone gave off. Leone was less of a friend and honestly more of a family. I guess she isn't that far off calling herself 'Onee-chan'. Of course, I would never tell her that, though I'm pretty sure she knows already.

I frowned as the thought crossed my mind. Family… Kurome is suffering, do I deserve to feel this warmth?

Kurome, I promised, 5 days from now, I will release you from your suffering.

* * *

 **Hey Guys and Girls – BzS here.**

 **I was super surprised when I found out that this chapter was almost twice the length of my usual chapter. But I couldn't find a good place to stop. So I said, eh, why not?**

 **I know this story kinda neglects the relationship development between Wave and Kurome, but since my main focus is on Tatsumi and Akame, I hope you guys can accept that 'Stuff happened' during the many months I didn't portray.**

 **I also thought that I should take this opportunity to remind everyone of the characters that are still alive, Hurray for Chelsea and Mein. Didn't want to save them, keep em alive, and never mention them again.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed. Since the story is finally reaching the end, I will try my best to pump these suckers out ASAP.**

 **Seeya!**


	36. Chapter 36 - Sisters

**Akame's POV**

I took in a deep breath and leaned back against the tree trunk.

It was a great day, the cloud was a light blue, with white puffs floating around. The sun was out, seeping through the leaves of the tree.

I am sitting on top of this hill, the only tree around was the one behind my back. A light breeze cause the leaves to rustle and fall.

The wind reminds me of him, Tatsumi.

"What are you doing all the way up here?" Speaking of the devil.

"Tatsumi."

"That's me." He said with a smile and sat down on the other side of the tree. At least I assume he did.

"Did you need me?" I asked. My voice was quiet, but I'm sure he picked it up.

"Do I need a reason to talk to my girlfriend?" He said. I knew he couldn't see anyways so I didn't even bother trying to suppress my blush.

That's right, a few month, almost half a year ago, we became lovers. But because of the war with the Empire, these few months were far from "Romantic".

I brought my knees to my chest and hugged it.

On that topic, what even is love? I really don't get it. I sighed, wishing I had read some books about love when I had free time.

A worthless thought really, no one really has time for love or curiosity when they spend their free time either training or indulging in food.

I sighed again. He spoke up.

"What's wrong? You're sighing a lot. It's not like you." Ah.

"N-nothing." We became silent again.

Tatsumi had come back the day before yesterday. I was really happy to see him unscathed, if anything, he seemed to give off a powerful aura. But he also seemed just a little bit nervous when I spoke to him.

It also didn't escape my eyes the bulge in his pockets.

At first I was sure he was hiding some sort of food item from me, but then again, he would never do that. He wouldn't betray my trust like that, but if it isn't food, what else could he be hiding? Even now, he seemed a little hesitant when talking to me.

"Akame, about what you said this morning." My eyes widened.

So that's why he was hesitating.

"I'm… serious." I said, pouring in all my resolve into my words.

* * *

"I am meeting up with Kurome tomorrow." I said.

Everyone froze. Soon, Najenda took another puff of smoke and looked me in the eyes.

"What do you plan to do?" She asked. I clenched my fists.

"I will fight her one on one. This is my duty as her sister, and the only I can do for her." Leone, Bulat, Hayami stayed silent, Tatsumi spoke up.

"Why… must you kill her?" He asked hesitantly.

"I… She is suffering heavy side effects from the booster drugs the Capital has been feeding her. She's been living off of them for years now, even if we force her into rehab she probably won't survive. The most I can do for her is to take her life." Tatsumi probably noticed my shaking voice, and went silent again.

"I will go there alone, please don't follow me." I said. Leone stood up abruptly.

"But what if she isn't as honest as you? What if she brings re-enforcements and –"Bulat put a hand on her shoulder and she stopped herself.

"I trust her, she is my sister. I have to." I ate my last bite and turned to Najenda.

I bowed my head.

"Please, this is my first and last request." She took another puff.

"I have no business interfering with your personal matters. And I couldn't very well ignore your first request now can I?" She said with a smile. My eyes grew wide and I raised my head.

Her eyes grew serious again.

"Don't die, the end is approaching." I nodded.

"Thank you."

* * *

"I'm… serious." I said, pouring in all my resolve into my words.

"I know. I can tell that you are serious." I heard rusting and looked up, he walked in front of me.

"That's why, Bulat, Leone, Hayami and I have discussed and we've decided we will support your decision." He said. My eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Aren't you afraid I'll die?" I asked. He chuckled.

"Of course I'm afraid, but I believe in your resolve. You won't allow Kurome to suffer and die after she kills you. But Akame, Leone and I will definitely follow you."

I shook my head. "You can't, if you stepped in and saved me, then killed Kurome, I –"

"We won't. I promised we won't. We will be there in case someone follows Kurome."

"Like who?"

"Wave. I may have spoken to him for only a few days, but he definitely cares about his comrades. He will likely follow Kurome, we will be there to stop them."

I grew silent at that likely possibility. After all, he was definitely not willing to pass my message. I can tell, he is likely in love with Kurome. Call it a sister's intuition.

"But, if I die in front of you, what will you…" He sat down beside me and pulled me into a hug.

"Then don't. Don't die. If you die, Kurome will suffer and die, I will suffer, Leone will suffer, we will lose the war, and millions more will suffer. For the sake of this war, for the sake of our friends, for the sake of your sister, for the sake of me. Win."

I closed my eyes, feeling his heartbeat. It was steady, reliable, calming.

"I understand." I whispered before I let that blissful darkness engulf me.

* * *

Tatsumi looked at the beautiful sleeping in his arms and thought back to what happened afterwards.

 _ **Flashback – A few hours ago**_

Tatsumi stepped out of the house and walked up to the giant sleeping dragon.

Akame had disappeared off somewhere. Of course, he knew where she was. But he felt she needed some alone time after her request a while ago.

"Hey Kaiser."

" **What."**

"You heard all that right?"

" **Of course. What do you want to ask?"**

"The lake. Can it cure addictions?" Kaiser snorted. He stood up and stretched his wings.

" **I don't know much about the properties of addiction. But I have a decent understanding of the Human Anatomy, after all, Mineko was a healer."**

"I thought she only had her Teigu."

" **Of course not, she was a medic long before she obtained her Teigu. I can only theorize that addictions are caused by a huge release of some chemical compound in the body. The body then becomes dependent on it. Ceasing to use the drug causes the Chemical Compound to disappear, but since the body is dependent on it, removing it causes organ failure and death. Does that seem about right?"**

"Yeah, I don't know much about addictions either." He flapped his wings and a huge gust of wind blew past me.

" **The lake left by Mineko has healing properties and the ability to revive someone from the dead because it used Mineko's own life force as fuel and power. In fact, if she had used that Trump card at her prime, she could probably revive more than one person, and the healing granted by the lake would be instantaneous."**

" **But she used it on the verge of death, and about 90% of the life force left went to revive your dying ass. So the healing granted by the Lake is significantly lower than before you died. Even so, it can definitely prevent death by organ failure. But the pain will definitely not ease."**

"In other wards. It will definitely be painful, it will take a long time, but she definitely won't die?"

" **Yeah. But remember that the lake is at the bottom of a huge valley. Someone without the ability to fly or climb the walls will never be able to get back up again."**

"… I don't think we have to worry about that."

 _ **End Flashback**_

I lightly and slowly stroked her hair.

I can't tell Akame yet. Doing so will weaken her resolve, if Kurome doesn't accept her help Akame will likely die.

"Don't worry Akame. I won't let you suffer again."

* * *

Kurome sat on her bed. Watching the seconds' hand of the clock slowly move.

It was close to midnight.

'Onee-chan should be waiting for me at the usual place.'

The Outskirts of the capital, an abandoned temple in the middle of the Gyou Forest.

Years ago, when Akame was still part of the Empires assassin group, they would meet there often and talk for hours on end.

That was their place, and the place where she would die.

Kurome grabbed her partner, Yatsufusa, and her bag of cookies.

Laced with drugs, these cookies were what kept her alive day to day. Even if she wanted to defect form the Empire, she definitely will die as soon as these drugs wear off.

She shook her head and wiped her doubts. Her comrades, memories and loyalty were all in the Empire.

She then grabbed a plastic case, within it were the real battle drugs. Created by the scientists of the Empire, these drugs can cause an exponential increase in physical attributes.

But of course, it destroys your body from the inside. She reached up and touched her hair, and looked at her hand. A clump of hair was in her palm. She smiled bitterly.

'My end is near. At the very least, I want my sister to be the last thing I see.' She thought.

The clock hand hit 12:00

Kurome stood up, times up. She strapped Yatsufusa to her waist and tucked the drugs into her pocket. She walked to the door and opened it.

"… Get out of the way." Kurome said.

"You are not going anywhere." She smiled. If anything, he's definitely stubborn.

"What are you going to do?" She asked him.

Wave stood in front of the door. He's tried multiple times in the past 5 days, trying to convince her. He still hasn't told anyone else about their meeting, and Kurome was very thankful about that.

"Whatever it takes. I will even fight you." Kurome shook her head.

"You won't be able to beat me, I will not hold back against you and you will not be able to use your full strength against me." He seemed to know that, and turned his face away.

She could hear him gritting his teeth.

'He's trying so hard to protect me. He may be an idiot, unreliable, and definitely stubborn, but…'

She doesn't dislike him.

His words and effort make her feel warm on the inside. A feeling she hasn't experienced since the trial in the forest with her Onee-chan.

But this was something that she had to do.

"Wave, I won't live long, my last wish is to die by my beloved onee-chan's sword." His eyes widened in anger and he opened his mouth to yell something, but Kurome didn't let him.

On her tiptoes, she tilted her head up and intercepted his lips. He froze.

'This is a gift. Thank you.' She clenched her fists and punched him in the stomach. He bent over from the shock.

His vision grew fuzzy and he fell to his knees.

The last thing he heard was her apology.

Kurome confirmed he was knocked out and began walking again.

'Wave, if we meet again in another life, I would probably fall in love with you.'

She focused her thoughts.

This was the end.

'Onee-chan, I'm coming.'

* * *

 **Wave's POV**

Her lips were soft. Fragile.

As my consciousness faded away. I heard her whisper.

"Sorry, see you in another life."

I drifted around in the darkness.

What the hell am I doing?

I clenched my fists.

I am weak. So freaking weak. Can I not even protect one of my comrades?

Can I not protect the girl I like?

Why?

Have I reached… my limit?

I felt a soft warmth from behind and light entered my eyes again.

I sat up quickly, and looked towards the heat source.

A pair of discs. Slightly larger than my fist.

Thousand Mile Fly – Mastema.

The legacy of Run.

That's right… I still have something to do for him don't I?

Avenge his village. He told me about his past after the Wild Hunt began ravaging the Capital.

He's cheering me on from somewhere isn't he?

That's right. Why am I hesitating?

'But if you are able to duel wield, then you can easily break through your limits and fight on par with Tatsumi.'

Captain Esdeath said that.

Tatsumi. He is strong. On par with Najenda, a strength I seek.

If he can do it. I can do it.

"Run. Please. Lend me your strength."

I tore down Kurome's door and looked at the clock, 12:30, I was knocked out for half an hour.

I have to hurry.

I quickly equipped Grand Chariot and flew up into the sky, as far as it could take me and over looked the entire Capital.

It was huge, seeing the entirety of it awed me once again of its size, but now's not the time.

At night, the Capital was nearly deserted. Especially with Wild Hunt recently terrorizing the streets.

For once, that was a good thing.

I scanned the outskirts of the Capital, there's no way an Assassin will agree to fight in Enemy territory.

My eyes landed on an abandoned church, sticking out of the forest in a clearing.

That's it. I'm sure of it.

As quick as my armor could carry me. I rushed right to the Church.

* * *

 **Akame's POV**

I opened my eyes as someone approached the church.

"Kurome." I said.

"Onee-chan." She replied. I looked down and looked her in the eyes. I clenched my fists.

She was pale. Really pale, as if she would faint at any moment. Her hair lost its old luster. Her eyes were dull.

I will save you, I promise.

"Onee-chan, you were followed?" She asked. Good to know her senses haven't dulled.

"Don't worry. They are here to prevent interference. I made them promise not to interfere." I said with confidence.

She nodded without hesitation.

"I trust you Onee-chan." I patted the space beside me and she responded by jumping up.

We stared up at the moon.

This brought back so many memories. We used to meet up here around midnight whenever we could. We would fight, train, and talk until we've lost our voices.

"Onee-chan, I love you. Which is why I still can't forgive you for betraying the Empire. Why? Was the revolution more important than me?" She whispered.

I shook my head. Back then, Kurome was definitely more important than anything to me.

"I was never truly faithful to the Empire, though I probably didn't know this back then. I definitely couldn't forgive it for separating us, and for hurting you. I couldn't in the right mind follow the Empire once I realized how disgusting it was." I said.

"But all our comrades."

"You were more important to me than them. I planned to take you with me, find a way to cure your addiction. But I underestimated your attachment to this place."

Her comrades that died. Her comrades that were still alive. Those were the invisible chain that prevented me from saving Kurome years ago.

She started giggling.

"Ahh, how different would things be if I had went with you years ago." I nodded.

"But that's impossible. Things have reached a point of no return a long, long time ago. I love you so much onee-chan…" She said still giggling, and jumped off the wall.

"But at the same time, I hate you for betraying me. Even right now, this unending war is waging inside me." She pulled out her sword.

I clenched my fist and lowered my head.

"I love and hate you so much onee-chan, which is why I will not let you die by anyone else's hand." She said. She popped a pill into her mouth and dropping into her stance.

In the end. It came down to this huh?

"Me too. It was my fault, I was weak and couldn't convince you back then, now you are suffering from my weakness. It is my duty to save you." I dropped down and pulled out my sword.

"It is time to make amends."

* * *

Kurome raised her sword and dozens black bolts of lightning shot into the ground. The ground broke up and more than 30 black shadows emerged.

But none of them lasted for more than 5 seconds.

Akame flew forward and in the blink of an eye, all the revived creatures fell to the ground, limbless and unable to move.

Akame quickly engaged Kurome in a swords flash, clanging echoed from the battle and sparks flew off their swords.

Akame found herself being pushed back as the drug began to take its effect on Kurome.

"Onee-chan, over the years, they improved this drug. It's several times stronger than the one you are used to fighting." Kurome said, her crazed eyes stared into Akame's as she pushed her back.

Akame slightly moved her wrist and Kurome's sword began sliding down Murasame. Kurome looked surprised and quickly moved out of the way, closely dodging a knee that would've knocked her out.

Akame ran forward to engage, this time, fighting in a different style.

Akame had 2 styles of fighting. The assassin's style taught to her by the Empire years ago.

And her own style, one that she's been polishing ever since being in the Elite 7.

Agile. Unpredictable. Using all her physical abilities, tricks, and sword skills to avoid and attack.

That was her style.

Kurome grit her teeth as she slowly started losing ground. She was faster and stronger, but she couldn't even come close to landing a hit.

Raising her sword, Kurome felt an impact and slid backwards. Akame pointed her sword at Kurome.

"Here I come." She whispered. She bent her knees ready to move when a voice reached her ears.

"KUROME!" Akame heard the whistling of the wind and looked towards that direction.

Out of the tree line, Wave in his Grand Chariot flew into the clearing.

"Kurome!" He yelled. Kurome looked surprised and angry.

"Why did you follow me!?" She yelled back, seemingly desperate.

"Night Raid! You will die here!" Wave ran forward by his senses warned him and he slid to a stop. A green arc barely missed his arm.

Tatsumi walked out of the tree line along with Leone and looked at Wave.

"Wave, don't interfere." Tatsumi said.

Wave glared at Tatsumi, the man who killed Run.

"Why should I listen to you?" Wave said in a threatening voice.

"What happened the last time you fought me?" Tatsumi said with a smirk.

Wave grit his teeth and ran at Tatsumi. Tatsumi pulled out Shinatsuhiko and they began fighting.

"Leone, keep sharp in case there is more. I will deal with Wave."

"Got it." Leone said before moving back into the trees.

I made eye contact with Akame and nodded, before ducking another punch from Wave.

Akame looked back at Kurome, who was watching worriedly at the battle and smiled a little.

'It seems you found someone you like.' She thought. Kurome seemed to feel her gaze and returned her focus back onto the battle.

Once again. The clanging of swords echoed in the forest.

* * *

 **Wave's POV**

He ducked under the punch.

Damn it.

He side stepped my kick.

Damn it.

He swung his sword and split my helmet in half.

DAMN IT.

"Wave, you won't be able to beat me as you are now." He said as if he was talking about the weather.

"SHUT UP!" He sighed and swung his arms. A huge force slammed into me and I flew backwards, hitting a tree.

"Gah!" I coughed and landed on my knees. Grand Chariot deactivated and I was left with my normal clothes.

This wasn't even a fight.

I punched the ground in anger, I felt nothing but pain in my hand.

He wasn't even duel wielding. I still can't touch him. He is so freaking strong. Stronger than even Akame.

I clenched my fists and reached for the discs behind me.

Tatsumi seemed to notice and yet, he stood where he was originally.

He's looking down on me.

"Damn it. DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!" I went to grab the disc when I heard her voice.

Her voice echoed in my head.

* * *

 **Flashback – A few weeks ago.**

I punched the wooden dummy again and again.

"999, 1000!" I yelled and I spun kicked the dummy, it's head snapped off and flew towards a person.

She was sitting on a bench nibbling on a cookie when she noticed the wooden head.

She brought up her sword and sliced it in half in an instant.

'W-Wow.' Wave thought.

"Watch where you kick things." She said.

"S-Sorry. Are you okay?"

"You made me drop my cookie." She said in deadpan voice.

Oh shit, I'm soooo dead.

"Please forgive me!" I yelled and bowed.

She sighed and looked at me.

"…You've been training hard." I looked back up.

She was looking around the training ground. I nodded.

"Yeah, I… I have to get stronger. But Captain Esdeath said I was already at my limit."

"How do you plan to break that limit?" She asked.

"Captain Esdeath suggested I duel wield. Just like Tatsumi." She looked me in the eyes.

"Wave, you are an idiot." She said.

"Where did that come from?!"

"In the past millennia, only Tatsumi has successfully duel wielded. If you aren't a moron, what are you?" I shrunk down.

She sighed.

"Wave, if you ever try to duel wield. Stay calm, focus, strengthen your will." I looked at her confused.

"Will?"

"Yeah, will. You are probably the most stubborn idiot in the history of the universe."

"Hey."

"Strengthen your will. That's the only thing you have going for you. Remember, if you end up dying some stupid way like exploding inside out because you tried to duel wield, you'll go down in history with the reputation of biggest moron."

"You are really mean today."

"Really? Maybe because I dropped my cookie." With that, she walked away.

I went back to the headless dummy.

"Will…" I brought back my fist and started punching it again.

* * *

I took a deep breathe.

That's right.

"The biggest moron in the history of the Empire doesn't have the right to date someone like Kurome can he."

Bols, Seryu, Run, Kurome. Lend me your power. Lend me your will.

"Tatsumi, I declare right now, on my pride as a man, I will save Kurome."

He smirked.

"Do it if you can."

I grabbed the discs behind my back and activated it.

They flew behind my back and wings sprouted out.

I grabbed Grand Chariot. Feeling it's weight in my hands.

I raised it up to the sky and stabbed it into the ground.

"Come. GRAND CHARIOT!"

* * *

The Spirit of the Grant Chariot, an ancient armored humanoid danger beast, was the exact opposite of the spirit of Incursio.

Always stable, never changing. It moved around the world, overpowering any creature that attacked it and survived any climate out of sheer force of will.

The Spirit of the Grand Chariot climbed out of the ground and stretched out its arms. It's war cry echoed into the Capitol.

The Wings of Mastema stretched out, its wing span more than doubled.

The Spirit of Grand Chariot slouched over, the armor on its back cracked.

Wave yelled out in defiance as indescribable pain enveloped his entire existence. It felt as if his body, no **, his soul itself was being pulled apart.**

He spat out blood as he struggled to breathe.

But he wasn't going to give up here.

"HEAR MY VOICE. MY NAME IS WAVE, THE MOST STUBBORN IDIOT IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE. KUROME, I WILL REACH YOU!"

The Armor on the back of Grand Chariot broke, pure white wings sprouted as its new roar shook the continent.

A whirlwind blocked Tatsumi's view of Wave for a second, Tatsumi looked up.

The full moon behind his back. Wave looked down on Tatsumi. His wings spread out and he shot down at Tatsumi.

"GRAND FALL FLUGEL!"

The earth shattered beneath them, completely destroying the Church and uprooting the surrounding trees.

Kurome and Akame both felt the shock wave and were blown away.

* * *

'Bury. Bury. Bury. BURY!'

The word that she carved into her mind, associated with the wiping of feelings and emotions.

The word that turned her into a ruthless assassins.

She desperately repeated the words inside her head, while she attacked Kurome again and again.

It was not easy. It hurt. But she had to do it.

 **It was her duty.**

"Damn it. DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!" Kurome widened her eyes for an instant and turned her attention to the other battle.

This is my chance. I flew forward, Kurome quickly turned her attention back to me.

"Shit!" She yelled and leaned backwards, but it was too late. Murasame landed a hit on Yatsufusa and it flew out of her hand.

I then spun and kicked her in the stomach, she flew backwards and skid to a stop.

I stepped up to her.

"Onee-chan." She closed her eyes and waited for her end.

I brought my sword up and closed up my heart.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't do anything for you. This is… the end."

"Come. GRAND CHARIOT!" A huge shockwave blew past and I turned my attention to Wave.

The spirit of Grand Chariot, the never changing beast, sprouted wings.

A Whirlwind surrounded him and he disappeared.

'Fast!'

She followed Tatsumi's eyes and saw Wave dropping down.

"Tatsu-" Too late.

The earth shattered and everything in the surrounding area was blown away. I felt the force, an unstoppable force and I flew backwards.

I braced myself for impact, but instead felt my body being caught.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Tatsumi! Are you hurt?" I asked upon realizing who he was.

"Of course not, that wasn't fast enough to hit me, I have my trump card remember?" I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Where's Wave?" He shook his head.

"This battle is over. You don't have to kill Kurome." I frowned.

"Tatsumi, you promised."

"Just wait. You'll be happier this way I promise." He winked and waved his arm. The dust around the clearing was instantly blown away and revealed the scene on the other side of the clearing.

* * *

Wave placed Kurome on the ground and she looked back up again.

"Wave, why did you come?" She asked.

"To stop this fight of course." She grit her teeth.

"I told you, I don't have long left, at the very least I-"

"Don't talk like that!" Wave yelled. "I will find a way. I will carry you around the entire country, no, the entire world if I have to. I will find a way to heal you. I won't let you die!"

"I won't follow you. I can't follow you. The war is still going on and – "

"Who gives a shit about the war?" Kurome stopped and glared at Wave.

"Wave, are you betraying me too?"

"No. I'm neither betraying you nor the Empire. What I'm doing is withdrawing from this fight for your sake." Kurome looked away.

"I can't… defecting from the Empire is unforgivable, I know that..." Wave pulled her into his arms.

"Don't worry. Even if the world turns against you, I will be by your side. I won't let anyone do anything to you." He said. Kurome was shaking.

"Night Raid. Kurome and I will be withdrawing from the war. That does not mean we are joining your side." Wave spoke from the other end.

"Wave, why are you doing this?" Akame asked.

"Because I love your sister." He spoke without hesitation.

"… I see." Tatsumi smiled before looking at Wave.

"If that's the case. West of Mount Fake where I ditched you last time, there is a deep valley. At the bottom of the Valley is a lake and a great Oak tree. The Lake has special healing properties that will definitely prevent Kurome from dying. You can he-"

"Shut up. I don't trust you. You could be laying a trap for us, or attempt to kill us." Wave yelled in anger.

"Hmm?" Tatsumi looked at Wave with a smile. A sudden wave of bloodlust washed over him and he felt his hand trembling.

"Kill you? Capture you? If I wanted to do that, I could've done that anytime I wanted. You can't beat me Wave. You know that don't you?" Tatsumi said.

Fear filled Wave. Grand Fall Flugel. It was most definitely his fastest and most powerful move. But somehow Tatsumi wasn't hurt in the slightest. In fact, Tatsumi followed Wave with his eyes.

'I can't beat him.'

If what he says is true. Then I can…

"It's up to you whether you go or not. I guarantee she will live. But be warned, the pain that comes when she stops taking the drugs will definitely persist. But that's your job isn't it."

Akame looked at me surprised.

"Tatsu-" Kurome's voice stopped her.

"Stop! I can't defect from the Empire. They said so… My comrades, my memories. If you continue Wave. I will kill you too!" She screamed.

She went to grab Yatsufusa, but it was too late.

Wave snatched it out of the ground. The wings on his back spread out and he crushed Yatsufusa in his hands.

"Ah…" Kurome seemed to have lost her strength.

"You don't have to do anything anymore. You've suffered enough. Leave everything to me from now on." Wave whispered.

"I-I-I… Wave…" She said weakly.

"Kurome. My home town is by the ocean. Have you seen the ocean before?" She shook her head. Still in a daze.

"Then when you recover. I'll take you there. It's really pretty. Vast, Blue, Cool. You'll love it I promise." She began crying.

"Do you want to come with me?"

Slowly. Her head bobbled up and down. Wave smiled.

"I love you." He turned to Akame and Tatsumi.

"I will trust you Tatsumi. But if I find out that you tricked us and I survive. Mark my words. You will die by my hands."

"Do it if you can." Tatsumi said. Akame stepped up.

"We will fake your deaths. As long as you guys don't get found out, you can go wherever you want." Wave looked at her uneasily.

"Are you okay with me taking your sister?" Akame nodded.

"It's better than me taking her life. But if I find out you mistreated her, I will send you to the kingdom come." Wave chuckled.

"I think she is capable of that herself." He turned around, Kurome in his arms.

"Onee-chan." She said quietly. Akame went up to her.

"Kurome, live safely. Recover. I'll come visit you." Kurome smiled and nodded.

"Thank you. Love you, Onee-chan."

"Then, good bye." Wave said and carried her off.

* * *

As soon as Wave was out of ear range. I turned to Akame.

"He's gone." She turned to me with a slight glare.

"Why didn't you tell me Kurome could be saved?"

"It would've weakened your resolve, you would've ended up dying in the fight."

"I could've convin... I guess not. I think only Wave could've done that." She said after some thought.

"He's amazing. He managed to do what I couldn't, and even duel wielded like you." She continued.

I nodded. If anything, his Willpower is incredible. Neither Mastema nor Grand Chariot seemed like a sentient teigu. In other words, he managed to suppress both and control them with willpower alone.

"Yeah. He's amazing. But that aside, Akame, it's okay now." Akame stared at me.

Her eyes brows tilted, and tears emerged from the edge of her eyes. I wrapped my arms around her and she began sobbing.

"…Akame, are these tears of sadness or relief?" I asked quietly.

"… I don't know." She replied.

"You should be happy. Smile. Laugh. No one died and your sister was saved today." She nodded.

"Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me?"

"In the end, you're the one who showed them the path aren't you?"

I shrugged.

"Who knows?" She smiled and wiped her tears.

She closed her eyes and turned her face towards me.

I accepted the invite and met my lips with hers.

* * *

'I've been completely forgotten haven't I?'

Leone thought as she sat in the tree. Looking down on the lovey dovey couple kissing in the middle of the crater.

"Who cares? It's good to know some people are finding happiness in the midst of chaos."

She stood up and walked out of the treeline. With a smile on the face.

"Hey! Let's head back."

* * *

 **Hot damn this chapter was long.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed. Summer vacation is coming up soon so hopefully I can finish this story by the beginning of September.**

 **Until next time! - BzS**


	37. Chapter 37 - Promise of a Lifetime

"In 5 days, the last battle will commence." Najenda said.

We had gathered in the meeting room. We, Night Raid, stood around our leader Najenda.

Night Raid, an elite assassins group belonging to and fighting for the revolution against the corrupt Empire.

Our members, numbering ten. Najenda, Akame, Bulat, Leone, Sheele, Mein, Lubbock, Susanoo, Chelsea and me, Tatsumi.

It has been a short time, a little less than 2 years. But during this short period, we've lost half our members. But their will, hopes and dreams live with us. We will win this war.

"The western forces have recovered and our army is at the doorstep of the Capital. We will assault the Capital in 3 directions. I've discussed with the other generals and we've decided that Night Raids power is essential. The western army will be facing off against the infamous Wild Hunt. Tatsumi, Hayami, I'm sending you two to the west. Destroy their forces and break into the Capital as quickly as possible."

I hesitated a little, but nodded. Hayami agreed too. I sneaked a peak at Akame to make sure she's okay, but she had her usual poker face on.

"Next, our main force will be attacking from the South. We are expecting Esdeath to be stationed there. Therefore, Bulat and I will be in the South. In the North, the Revolutionary army has stationed 2 Teigu wielders as well as Kaiser, with Tatsumi's recommendation. All the others will be with us in order to deal with Esdeath."

I clenched my fists. Esdeath, without a doubt she's the biggest threat in this war. Her teigu is honestly way too overpowered.

Last time I fought her in the Arena, it could be considered a stalemate. But I was duel wielding.

She's definitely insanely strong.

"Lastly. Akame, Leone. You two will be inside the Capital again. You are to kill several corrupt Ministers, Merchants and the Prime Minister's Cohorts. These people are evil down to their very soul, letting them escape will only lead to more trouble in the future. Show them no mercy. After you kill them all, you will kill Prime Minister Honest and Capture the Emperor."

"Will we be facing any Teigu users?" Akame asked.

Najenda shook her head.

"They should have no Teigu's to spare, but be on guard."

"You have 3 days to relax and prepare yourselves. After 3 days, you will separate and prepare for battle. One last thing. Tatsumi and Hayami, when you guys break through into the Capital, head straight to the Palace and assist Akame and Leone. That is all, you are dismissed.

* * *

I faced off against Bro for the first time in a while. A short training session.

Without warning, he appeared in front of me, armor equipped.

'Fast!' I thought in my head.

I ducked under his punch, feeling a shockwave originating from where my head used to be.

"Bro, not even a warning?"

I jumped back, but he wasn't going to let me recover.

"I'm an assassin, what kind of assassin gives a warning before fighting?"

I began dodging and blocking the onslaught of punches and kicks that ensued. Finally, I let out an electric pulse that paralyzed him and I hopped back.

Demon Armor – Incursio. The ever evolving armor, the exact opposite of Grand Chariot.

Ever since I joined Night Raid, I've witnessed it's evolution twice. The most recent one during the Battle of the Arena.

Ever since that fight, his speed, strength, and armor endurance increased exponentially.

Not to mention…

Bulat quickly recovered from his paralysis and flew at me once again. I sent another electric pulse, but he shook it off.

This uncanny ability to adapt after one attack.

I clenched Fenrir, its core changed from a yellow glow to an electric blue.

Fenrir – Level 2

The world slowed down even more.

I scanned Bulats armor. The joints of an armor are the weakest parts.

The elbow section, right below 3 segments of armor and above the armguard. One slice there can cut off his arm.

Shinatsuhiko glowed green and I swung down at his armguard. A shallow mark appeared and I jumped back.

It's hard.

"Tatsumi, I told you to come after me with the intent to kill." Bulat scolded.

"I am, I held nothing back on that slash." I replied.

"Don't even try, I know you could've done more. After all…"

He probably saw it.

During high speed duels. Especially if you can accurately gauge the enemy's capabilities, you can see the outcome of the duel.

I've witnessed this several times during my duels with Akame and Bulat.

My life flashing before my eyes. Seeing my skull smashed open, throat sliced, innards crushed.

It's haunting.

"But I don't want you losing an arm yet. Let's take a break."

He laughed and nodded.

"Bro, your armor is incredible." I commented.

"Yeah, but the dormant instincts of Incursio is stronger than ever. I have to resist with all my might just to suppress it." He clenched and unclenched his fist.

The dormant instincts of Incursio, what allows it to keep evolving despite being dead for a millennia. But Incursio isn't sentient. Its raw instincts are several times more than any of the other Teigus.

"Incursio's incredible ability to adapt is probably why boss decided to assign you to the Southern Front." He nodded.

"You said that Najenda had a trump card that can freeze time right? If that is used on the battle field, hundreds could die in an instant. Hopefully, Incursio can prevent that." He replied.

"… Bro, are you going to be okay?" He laughed.

"What do you mean? Don't underestimate you bro. I may not be able to win but I will definitely put up a good fight against Esdeath." I shook my head.

"Not that, I know there's a reason why Boss hasn't assigned you to the battlefield since the battle at the arena." He went silent, as if debating on whether to tell me. I patiently waited. I had no intention of forcing the answer out of him, but it really bothered me.

After a few minutes, he finally spoke up.

"Tatsumi, I'm sure you realize already, but Incursio right now is several more potent than before the transformation. There aren't any real dangers to me, since I've been this guy's partner for years now. My body is used to the raw instincts of this armor. But I am very afraid that I might lose control. While you guys were away, I have been practicing against Hayami and training myself in order to not lose control during a fight."

I was a little shocked, that's when I remembered the Capitol Archive Chamber. Having memorized the details of each and every Teigu, a single line describing Incursio emerged from the cluster of information.

'This armor is ever evolving, ever adapting, searching for a way to revive itself and return to the world after its death.'

Is it possible that it's raw instincts will lead it to taking over the wielders body. Leading to the revival of the Tyrant?

A cold shiver went down my spine as I realized for the first time, what a dangerous existence the Tyrant was.

* * *

I laid in bed, eyes closed. To anyone else, it would seem like I was resting, but that's not entirely true.

'You guys really are terrifying creatures aren't you?'

' _First thing you say in the past week and it's this dumb shit?'_ Shinatsuhiko's sarcastic voice echoed in my head.

' _I would say the same, but what brought this up? I thought we established this fact quite a while ago.'_ Fenrir asked.

'It's just the thought that the Tyrant could possibly revive himself by taking over its wielder through its adaptive abilities just struck me as incredible.'

' _Hmph, the mere thought of how you worship that moron like he's the strongest creature in existence makes me pity you.' Shinatsuhiko huffed._

' _We messed with him a lot didn't we? I would occasionally fry him with lightning just to relieve some boredom. Every time my lightning no longer affects him I would just increase the voltage by a few millions volts.'_

' _I still remember that time when I blew him to the North Pole straight into a blizzard then just before he adapted to that environment I blew him to the middle of a scorching dessert and repeated that process a few thousand times.'_

They both started laughing in my head.

I sweat dropped at their absurd ways of relieving boredom, talking about unbelievable events like they are talking about the weather.

"So? Is it possible?"

" _What is?"_ Fenrir asked.

' _What else? Whether the Tyrants instincts can revive it from the dead_ _you bumbling brook.'_

' _Shut up, I don't want to hear that from an_ _air_ _head like you.'_

' _Would you stop it with your stupid puns? I'll catch your intelligence.'_

' _If you_ _wind_ _up being as smart as me, maybe you'll be able to think of a decent comeback every once a millennia.'_

' _Oh my-'_

'Just answer the question!'

There was a moment of silence.

' _I would say it's possible. The creature known as the Tyrant was a creature that survived based on pure instincts. In fact, there was a debate on whether he even had a brain. In either case, I doubt he needs a brain to survive, as long as his soul and body is intact in some way or another, he could probably revive himself.'_ Shinatsuhiko replied.

'… I see.'

' _But you shouldn't worry too much. The man you call Bro, he has a strong will for sure, if he can get used to the pressure Tyrant puts on him, he can definitely resist being taken over.'_ Fenrir added.

'… How long would it take to get used to his armor?'

' _Who knows? Neither of us have witnessed anyone taking Incursio's evolution this far, for all we know, he could be at his limit right now.'_

' _Would you look at that, the embodiment of wind, the incarnation of air, failing to read the god damn atmosphere… If that's not irony I don't know what is.'_

' _Shut up! You and your stupid jokes are driving me insane!'_

' _You were insane to begin with, what kind of sane organism would eat a sheep like Billy?'_

' _Get over it already! Don't think I don't know when you drop kicked that Walrus!'_

' _Wha- It was an accident! I was fighting Helios when that little thing popped out of nowhere!'_

I smiled as I listened to their bickering. It was strangely comforting to know that despite being epic creatures with an absurd amount of power, they are still strangely human.

That's when something struck me.

'Wait, from what you've said, Shinatsuhiko, you fulfill the requirements to return back to life don't you?'

' _Hm? Oh yeah. I have a fraction of my soul, body and mind. If I wanted to take you over I could anytime I want.'_

'…'

' _Relax, returning back to life would mean another eternity of boredom. Of course, if I find that you became a boring man, I would take you over no questions asked.'_

' _Heck no, I'm not going to let you just take him over! How the hell am I supposed to come back to life if you took him over?!'_

' _Hell if I know! Take over an ant or something.'_

I sighed and smiled.

That's reassuring.

* * *

The sun was setting outside my window. I stepped out of my room and someone grabbed my sleeve.

I looked back and saw Akame standing there.

"What's wrong?"

She tugged at my sleeve, signaling me to follow her.

I followed her and we ended up in the forest again.

"What's wrong?" I asked quietly.

"..." She turned around and buried her face in my chest.

She's scared.

I could feel it. But I really don't know what to say.

'I will be okay.' 'Don't worry, I'm strong.' 'I definitely won't die.'

These all sound like empty promises. She would believe me, but at the same time, it's not enough.

I felt the weight in my pocket.

Is it the right time? What if the moods wrong and she doesn't accept?

I shook away my doubts.

If not now, when?

If not this, how?

I relaxed my hands and my heartrate increased.

"Akame…" I grabbed her shoulder and pushed her away a little, just enough to see her eyes.

Her eyes told me everything I needed to know. She didn't know how to express her fear.

I grabbed her hand and began walking towards that spot.

"Akame, it's been 2 years hasn't it?"

"… 2 years?" I nodded.

"Just under 2 years ago, I met you for the first time… Actually that's not entirely correct is it?"

She tilted her head.

"Don't you remember me? Aka-chan." I said. Her feet stopped and she looked at me in surprise. I turned around to face her.

She looked blankly at me, as if trying to comprehend what I just said.

"Are you…" I nodded with a smile.

A sudden wave of fear washed over her face and she turned away. I immediately caught her hand.

"It's okay. I've forgiven you a long time ago." I said.

"But I betrayed you all those years ago. Even though you saved my life, I-"

"It's okay. I can guess why you left suddenly that night. You were on a mission for the Empire right?" She nodded.

"Yeah. I still remember it clearly. My target was an influential political official whom opposed the Empire. I was scouting out the area when the blizzard hit. I woke up in an unfamiliar room. I got to know the young boy who saved me. I… never even asked for your name."

I smiled before pulling her along again.

"It's okay. I never forgot about you. Though I didn't realize you were the same girl from all those years ago until just before I left to fight Hayami."

We finally reached the destination I had in mind.

The small hill with a single tree on top. We began walking up the hill.

"It's been nearly 2 years since I found you again, Akame. You were my first love, back in the Village." Her eyes widened and she blushed.

"Over the course of these 2 years, I met you again, went through so much hardship with you, and fell in love with you again, not knowing you were the same person."

"… I'm the same. Though I didn't understand the concept of love back then… no, I don't really understand it even now, but the time I spent with you back then was the most fun I had in my life."

"Do you love me?" I asked without hesitation. She blushed again.

"I-I, yeah." She stuttered.

She was blushing and looking around, trying to avoid my gaze. It was as if she were a normal girl.

I gave a small laugh and we stepped under the shade of the tree.

The sun was setting over the treetops. We stood side by side, every time the wind blew, her hair fluttered along with the leaves that drifted down from the tree.

"Akame, we've been through many things together. Losing our comrades, fighting for our lives and the lives of millions. I love you Akame, though it feels like a lifetime, it's only been 2 years."

I pulled out the small box from my pocket.

Scales tougher than any material on earth, the branch from the top of the great oak, which survived through a thousand years of darkness and wind. Combined by the power of Miracles.

The 51st Teigu, created 1 thousands years after the others.

I opened the box and a single piece of jewelry sat at the center.

Clear, light red jewel, glowing with a ferocious aura. Dark brown frame, giving off the same sense of tenacity as the earth itself.

"Akame, I will say it again. I love you. I want to stay with you for the rest of my life and forever more. This war, we will survive it. No matter what happens, I will protect you. So after we deliver justice to the Empire and come back alive, Akame…"

" **Will you marry me?"**

* * *

My heart was beating so fast.

Why? Why is it beating so fast?

" **Will you marry me?"**

Such simple words. Words found only in love novels I read when I was curious.

Tears flowed down my cheek. My entire body was trembling. My heart was beating out of control.

Was this happiness? Nervousness? I don't get it.

I don't understand myself at all. I don't understand love at all.

I tried to stop. I tried to hold back my tears, tried to stop my trembling body, tried to slow my heart down.

I'm starting to panic.

That's when I saw his eyes. He was looking at me calmly. Waiting.

Those deep, green eyes of his. It engulfed me in a relaxing feeling.

It reminded me of a breeze. A gentle breeze that transformed into a raging storm during battle.

My mind cleared up.

… What am I doing?

I relaxed my body, my mind, my soul.

I let the tears pour, I let my body tremble, let my heart beat free.

Slowly, a smile appeared on my face.

That's right. All I need to do is copy what happened in the books.

Putting all my emotions into forming that one word.

I said it.

" **Yes."** Without stopping myself, I let all my emotions flow.

These emotions, the ones I buried for years and years, the ones I forgot, the ones I never knew I had.

The floodgates broke down and I spoke without even thinking.

" **Forever and ever. I will stay by your side. I love you, Tatsumi."** He rushed forward and pulled me into his arms.

Our lips met. We conveyed everything we felt. Everything we are to the other.

I felt his tongue slip into my mouth and I accepted it.

My entire body felt weak. But it was okay. He was here.

Forgetting everything, all my worries, all my regrets, all my fears, hates, I focused on him and only him.

My Tatsumi.

* * *

We finally split apart after an entire minute.

I felt happiness and relief beyond belief.

She accepted… What now?

I didn't think this far.

"This ring… it feels like a Teigu." She said. I'm guessing she sensed the power radiating from it.

I shook my head.

"It's not one of the 50, I mean 48 original Teigu."

"What do you mean?"

"This teigu was born a week ago. I took the toughest scales from Kaiser, and branches from the Oak Tree at the bottom of that valley, and had them combined to create this. It is definitely on par with the original 50, I mean 48." I explained.

"But not everyone is capable of duel wielding. Just the fact that there are 3 duel wielders in 1 generation is absolutely absurd." She said.

"Don't worry, its okay. This teigu is a little special." I took her left hand and slid the ring onto her ring finger.

She looked at me confused.

"I don't feel anything." She said.

I closed my eyes. A whirlwind spiraled around me and lightning began sparking within the whirlwind. Both Shinatsuhiko and Fenrir began glowing. Their aura spread from their swords into me and onto my hands that held her left hand.

I imagined my powers wrapping around her.

The glow slowly faded away and the whirlwind disappeared.

"There we go." I said. She looked at me really confused.

"What did you just do?" I smiled.

"This teigu is a little special. It is made specifically for you, and is actually only compatible with you. Its abilities is simple but strong, I embedded this teigu with some of my powers. You should be able to use my powers now, albeit it's only around 5% of my full ability. I don't know the full extent of its abilities, so don't use it unless you have to."

Her eyes widened in surprise. It is strong for sure, even with 5% of my strength, being able to wield, in theory, 3 teigu's without repercussions is insane.

"How do I activate it?"

"Imagine the nature of the power stored within." I said.

"That's kind of vague."

"Sorry, I don't know the full extent of its powers. The person who created this only told me this much." I said sheepishly.

"But with this, I'm always with you. I will protect you when you are in danger, so Akame, believe in me. I won't let you die, nor will I die myself. We will live through this."

She blushed again and nodded. Her right hand tightly held her left. I pulled her into a hug and we sat down, leaning against the tree.

3 days.

I smiled and held her close. She felt delicate, weak even.

For now, the past nor future existed for us.

It's just us, the present and a light breeze.

* * *

 **Well...**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **Seeya! BzS**


	38. Chapter 38 - The Last War (Prequel)

Year xx11 – 5th day of the 4th month.

The final battle between the Revolutionary Forces and the Imperial Forces clashed, dubbed -

The Last War.

The Revolutionary Forces launched a simultaneous attack from the North, South and West against the Imperial Capitol.

Total Imperial Forces – 500 000  
Estimated Loss – more than 250 000

Total Revolutionary Forces – 700 000  
Estimated Loss – More than 450 000

In the South side –

Revolutionary Forces - 500 000 led by General Najenda  
Imperial Forces - 50 000 led by General Esdeath.

In the West side –

Revolutionary Forces - 100 000 led by General Malthus  
Imperial Force - 300 000 led by General Almruth.

In the North side -  
Revolutionary Forces – 100 000 led by General Emultu  
Imperial Forces - 150 000 led by General Ulmera

The battle began at 8:00 AM and ended at 8:00 PM.

A war that would've lasted months under normal circumstances, ended in 12 hours.

Some said they went through all 4 seasons in that battle.

Some said it was a like a dream, many others said it was a nightmare.

Some said gods descended upon the battlefield.

The battle that went down into the legends as a battle that overthrew the millennial Empire.

A battle that ignored all natural laws and logic itself.

A battle where Humans killed Humans. Gods Killed gods. Gods Killed Humans.

The legend that began…

With a single slash.


	39. Chapter 39 - The Last War - West

**Hey guys. BzS here.**

 **So before I begin this last arc. I want to recommend any anime watchers who haven't read the Manga to read it before continuing.**

 **I won't be going into deep detail with the Wild Hunt Characters, nor what they have done.**

 **Your experience of these last few chapter will be much more interesting if you understand these characters better.**

 **I know I should've done a better job about this. So sorry for my shitty writing and planning.**

 **But still, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Tatsumi's POV**

The walls surrounding the Imperial Capital stand high before us.

Our troops, numbering 100 000. Stood in formation.

A frontal assault like this… It's a true insult to real warfare.

But before the power of Teigu's. Tactics are useless.

It seems the enemy understands this. Facing us from less than 500 feet away.

In front of their formation. I could make out 5 figures, standing at the very front.

"General. The 5 in the front. That's the Wild Hunt right?"

General Malthus, a bulky, charismatic man who has led the Western Forces to victory many times before, whom suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Wild Hunt, replied.

"Yeah. That's them, I would never mistake them for anyone else." I nodded.

"Then we will proceed as planned."

I signaled for Hayami to follow and we proceeded forward on our horses.

We made a small distance of 50 feet between us and our forces.

"Why hasn't the battle started yet?" Hayami asked.

"The answer is pretty simple." I said without a second thought.

"Because we haven't gotten the signal yet."

"I know, that's why we aren't attacking, but why hasn't the enemy done anything?"

"They are waiting for us to start."

"Are they idiots?"

"They might be waiting for a signal too, or trying to stall for time. But in all likely hood, they are probably just underestimating us." Hayami clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Wild hunt, just because they won once… I won't forgive them."

Wild hunt… a group that has been doing unspeakable things in the name of the Prime Minister inside and outside the capital. Ever since Hayami heard of their actions, she's developed a seething hatred for them.

"Calm down Hayami. This is a battlefield."

"I know."

Silence once again engulfed the battlefield. A heavy, tense silence that could drive the weak willed to a panic.

In the distance, Tatsumi saw the enemy draw their bowstrings.

"Tch, they finally ran out of patience huh?" I looked back at the General and he signaled the troops to prepare for battle.

In the distance, a red flare exploded high in the sky.

The signal from Akame. I smirked. Just in time.

"Are you ready?" I asked with a small smile.

"You bet."

"FIRE!"

With that signal. More than 100 000 arrows flew into the sky, casting a shadow onto the battlefield.

I swung my sword upward.

The slash that began Last War.

* * *

My slash transformed into a huge upward force that crushed the arrows midair, the remains fell harmlessly to the ground.

Not a single reached our army.

"CHARGE!" General Malthus yelled.

Hayami and I led to the charge straight into the Enemy.

An ear piercing shout followed by a tunnel shaped shockwave headed in our direction.

Hayami and I dodged to the side, jumping off our horses. The horses were crushed under the shockwave, becoming nothing more than a pile of meat.

"Hello everyone! Have you missed me~?!" A high pitched, female voice yelled.

The 5 shadows from before were now fully visible.

"Shut up! Your annoying ass voice pisses me off!" A young, lean man with a triangle bob cut said.

Enshin. Teigu – Moonlight Sword Dance – Shamhir.

"Hehe, I know you love Cosmina too. I'll give you a treat later." The first girl replied.

Cosmina. Teigu – Great Tremor – Heavy Pressure.

"Let's get this over with. This place filled with filthy adults makes me sick in the stomache." Said the chubby clown.

Champ. Teigu – Ace Solution – Die Leaguer

"These 2 look like worthy opponents. Their blood will be a treat to Kosetsu." A middle aged man said.

Izou. Teigu – Unknown. But from what we know, his swords skills are top notch.

The last smaller girl didn't say anything, but her aura was stronger and darker than the others.

Dorothea – Teigu – Blood Collection – Absordex.

She's probably the most dangerous.

"So? Hayami, which ones do you want?"

"I'll leave the two sword users and the little girl to you. I'll be taking the two rapists."

She said darkly.

"Alright then. Don't die." She chuckled.

"Glad to know you're confident enough to joke on the battlefield." I smirked.

We both hopped off our horses.

I swung my sword and a hurricane level force blew Cosmina and Champ back a few hundred feet.

Hayami disappeared from sight and appeared next to them.

I returned my focus back to my 3 enemies.

"You three. I'm your opponent. You guys can come at me one at a time or three at once. But nothing will change the fact that you won't leave this battle field alive."

"Heh. Tough luck you bastard. You are the one dying here."

Enshin stepped up and looked behind him.

"You guys go on and have some fun first. I will take care of this guy real qui-" His eyes widened and he jumped to the right.

His left arm came off, blood spurt onto the ground as he screamed in pain.

"What?!" He yelled, unable to understand what just happened to him.

"You have some nerve. Looking away from me." I said.

"Enshin, are you still planning on taking him on?"

"No shit! I will tear him limb from limb!"

"Alright then." The little girl turned around and dashed away.

I continued to stare at Enshin.

"Prepare yourself you bastard!" He swung his sword and arc flew out at high speeds.

Moonlight Sword Dance – Shamshir. A sword capable of creating aerial blades, its power depends on the moon cycle.

I smirked.

This world really isn't fair is it?

I mirrored his movements and light green arcs flew towards him at high speeds.

The arcs clashed and canceled out in midair.

His eyes widened and he bit his lips so hard they began bleeding.

"YOU BASTARD, HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!"

"Go ask the devil." He went into a frenzy and started rapidly swinging his arm, waves after waves of blades flew towards me.

I mimicked his movements swing after swing, cancelling each and every blade.

The troops from both sides avoided our battle, anyone who stepped close would without a doubt die.

Soon enough, he began to slow down. Either from exhaustion or blood loss. I concentrated and my blades began to thin.

My blades sliced his in half and headed towards him. He slumped in exhaustion and despair filled his eyes as his body was shredded to bits.

I turned my head to Izou.

"You're next." He smirked.

"Your skills are top notch." He praised.

"Your blood will bring joy Kousetsu."

"Joy? Your sword likes blood?"

"It's more of a philosophy I live by. As a straightforward swordsman, I believe the more opponents I defeat, the strong I grow." He explained.

"Kousetsu isn't a teigu." I said with confidence. I knew every one of the 50 Teigu's.

"Yeah. But don't underestimate me just because of that." He said.

I dropped into my stance with Shinatsuhiko.

He placed his hand on Kousetsu.

My life flashed before my eyes.

The same way as when I'm fighting Akame or Bulat.

Close the gap. Swing at his Abdomen, parried, slashed.

I will die in 3 moves.

He's too strong. I can't defeat him with my sword skills.

I dash forward, appearing right in front of him. I swing at his Abdomen.

He draws Kousetsu fast than the eye could see, blocking Shinatsuhiko. With the flick of the hand and perfectly placed force, my sword flies upward.

Leaving my entire front exposed.

His smirk grew. I read his thoughts clear as day.

'I've won.'

The fight mirrored the vision.

His sword sliced through my midriff as if there was nothing there.

And the fact was, **there really wasn't anything there.**

Before he could even register what had just happened, I stabbed Shinatsuhiko down right through his left lung.

He lurched forward and coughed up blood. I kneed him in the chin and he flew onto his back.

"W-what happened?" He coughed out.

"If you had attacked together, I might've had a little more trouble." He coughed and spat out more blood, as if wanting to say something.

I sliced off his head without another thought.

I turned my head to my last target.

I've been keeping an eye on her this entire time.

She has incredible strength, impossible for her age. It may be because of her teigu Absordex, but her toughness, agility and movements are definitely abnormal.

She's killed more than 50 men during this short period of time.

I have to stop her quickly.

With that thought in mind. I flew towards her location.

* * *

 **Hayami's POV**

I followed Champ and Cosmina as they landed on the ground a long way away from Tatsumi's battle.

"W-what just happened?!" Champ yelled in confusion.

Force so strong it blew a 300 pound man this far, as expected of Tatsumi.

"The two of you… you will pay for your sins here." Visions of my past flashed before my eyes.

My mother, violated by twisted soldiers.

This is my revenge.

"Ah, are you here to listen to Cosmina's beautiful voice?"

"Hehehe, I didn't think there was anyone this young on the battlefield, I'll take good care of you."

Cosmina shouted into her microphone, sending a shockwave toward me.

I bent my knees and pushed off to the left as the world slowed down.

When moving at high speeds, time seems to slow down, some scientists of this age even theorize that moving at the speed of light will cause time to stop for that individual.

I pulled back an arrow, it began glowing yellow and within seconds pierced Cosmina's abdomen.

She screamed in pain and held her wound, the lightning arrow had passed right through her body, creating a small hole in her.

The wind is quite strong here, that first arrow was a test run to grasp the arrows trajectory.

"A bow user? It seems to be a teigu as well." Champ muttered. A disgusting smile appeared on his face.

He brings his hand up and an orb shot up into the sky.

A huge force engulfed the battlefield. The wind began whirling around us, like we were inside a miniature tornado.

The wind was flowing counter-clockwise.

"Storm orb." He said.

"Champ! Why did you wait for Cosmina to be injured before using a trick like this? It hurt!"

I narrowed my eyes. The wind is very erratic, hitting them in this storm will be difficult.

I have a few options, close our gap to land my arrows or wait for Tatsumi.

I immediately shook my head, I can't just depend on him. Closing the gap may be risky too since I don't know the abilities of the other 5 orbs.

In that case.

I pulled back an arrow and shot it towards Champ.

The arrow was carried by the wind and went way off target, despite our distance only being 50 feet, the arrow went nearly 20 feet to the left.

"It's useless! You'll never hit us!." He waved his arm and another orb flew towards my direction. I dodged at the last second and it flew past me, hitting a man behind me.

An enemy soldier, attempting to assassinate me. He screamed as his skin peeled away as if something was eating at it.

In a few seconds, he was nothing but a pile of dust, scattered in the wind.

"Rot Orb." I pulled back another arrow, feeling the wind behind me, I released it. The wind guided the arrow and it flew to the left. Completely missing Champ.

"HAH! Where are you aiming?!" Champ yelled. Cosmina stood up beside him, finally recovering from the wound in her stomache.

"Ouch ouch ouch. I can't sing that well now… Cosmina's fans is going to be sad."

She picked up her mike and turned to me. I pulled back and fired another arrow. The arrow curved around her and flew off somewhere.

"You will pay~" She said with a smile. She took a deep breathe and a huge shockwave flew in my direction.

I stood still and waited. The shockwave drew close and closer.

And dispersed.

Cosmina fell to the ground, an arrow through her head.

"W-what?!" Champ yelled.

As erratic as this storm is, there is a definite and consistent pattern.

After all, the orbs position and output hasn't changed at all.

"You underestimated me. The first two arrows told me everything I needed to know."

The third arrow rode the wind and orbited the battle field before sniping Cosmina's head.

Champ took a step back.

"I-is that even possible?!"

I pulled back 2 arrows, one glowed black, the other brown, and I released them. I dashed forward, appearing behind Champ and kicked him forward, his fat cushioned the kick and he turned around.

An orb flew towards me and I hopped back, the ground where the orb landed froze instantly.

"Ice orb."

The arrow arced back and shot towards his head, he ducked it and laughed.

"It doesn't matter if I keep moving!" He yelled.

"Then go ahead."

His eyes widened and he clenched his teeth. His eyes became bloodshot.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!" Spit flew out of his mouth as he screamed.

"People like you are so predictable." The arrow had landed right on his shadow.

"You were aiming for that!?" I closed my eyes.

"Mom. I can't seek out your killer, nor those bastards who hurt you. This man committed the same crime and deserves to die. May your soul settle in peace…" I whispered.

Above our heads, the brown arrow struck the Storm orb, shattering it.

The wind died down around us.

"Now. Die."

His head shot backwards and he blood dyed the ground.

I turned back towards the direction Tatsumi was.

"I wonder how he's doing."

* * *

 **Tatsumi's POV**

This girl is strong.

Her stature is small, her physique thin, making her agile and quick, yet her strength surpassed any normal human. Her technique is flawless, allowing her to fight head on against me without a weapon.

But her most dangerous weapon is without a doubt her experience.

"You. How old are you?"

"How old do I look?"

"That does not matter. I can tell, you are more experienced than anyone fighting in this war."

"Hmm? Not bad. You have good eyes."

I swung my sword downwards, she caught it between her palms so I let go of Shinatsuhiko and drew Fenrir at lightning speed. By the time I placed my hands on Fenrir, she had already fallen backwards, allowing her to dodge my attempt to slice her head off.

She hopped back and dropped Shinatsuhiko. I narrowed my eyes.

If she had held on to it any longer, she would've at least lost an arm. After all, Shinatsuhiko is mine.

It dissolved into thin air and reformed in my hand, after I sheathed Fenrir.

"You have a second weapon? It seems rather special too." Her eyes widened.

"I heard that there was a duel teigu wielder in the Revolutionary forces. Hehehe, interesting!" Her eyes changed from emotionless to psychotic.

"You'll make an interesting specimen." She laughed.

She dashed sideways, appearing behind an Imperial Soldier, her teeth sinks into his neck.

A silent scream erupted from his throat before he gradually shriveled into skin and bones.

A red aura surrounds her as she turns to me again.

"I guess I'll crush a limb or two off before taking you back." She said sadistically.

She disappears from sight, much faster than before and appears to my right, her fist flying at my right arm.

I pivot and block the punch with Shinatsuhiko, the weight of the punch pushed me back and my feet is lifted off the ground.

I backflip and land on my feet 10 feet away.

That's some stupid power, she may even surpass Leone at this point.

I heard a crack and I looked down at Shinatsuhiko.

Where the punch was landed, a small crack appeared. My eyes widened.

For a second, the surprise distracted me and I brought up my sword again, blocking a kick.

The sound of Shinatsuhiko shattering sent a shockwave through my body and I was once again sent flying.

I looked down at Shinatsuhiko. I clenched my fist and returned her to her sheathe.

"What a waste, to think a duel wielder is this weak. I thought you could use both your swords at once, but it turns out the other one is only backup? I'm really disappointed…" From the corner of my eyes, I could see the whirlwind on the other side of the battlefield die down.

Guess Hayami is done with her battle, I should end this soon too.

I placed my hand on Fenrir, changing my stance.

She disappeared again, my vision sharpens as energy, electric energy flows through my body.

The world slows down and she reappears in my vision.

To my left, she pulls back her fist. I drew my sword faster than she could react and her right arm disconnects with her body.

"What?!"

She jumps back and grabs the stub that was once her arm.

"I don't need both teigu's to kill you." I said.

Her face scrunches up, visible wrinkles that were once invisible appeared on her face.

"YOU BRAT!" She throws a tube at me, I slice it down in midair. My eyes widen as a gas of some sort explodes from the tube.

I jump back, my body going numb. Everyone within my general vicinity collapsed to the ground.

I look up and she appears to be writing something on the ground.

"Hehehe, I'll show you the power of my ALCHEMY!" She yells. Whatever she wrote on the ground glows an ominous black, some sort of dark energy whirled up from the ground and formed the shape of a disgusting beast.

6 spider like feet, a huge body reaching 40 ft. up, a deformed but human like torso, with a scorpions tail.

A Revolutionary solder, sent into a panic by that monster, fired his gun at it.

The monsters eyes turned slowly in his direction, the bullets deflected by its skin, or shell.

It's scorpion like tail shot forward, extending beyond its length and pierced right through the soldier.

His body convulsed and turned purple.

Poison. Deadly poison, though not like it's necessary.

"What a monster." I whisper to myself.

"NOW MY CHILD! KILL THAT BRAT!"

The monster reared its head and let out a horrifying shriek and began crawling towards me, sending tremors through the ground and trampling anyone in the way.

I knelt, unable to move, as the monster closed in on me.

A monster like this… shouldn't exist.

Its tail fell of its body, twitching before it disintegrated into dust.

"Wha- HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO MOVE?!" I scoffed.

"Paralysis doesn't work on me." Lightning pulsed from my body and the wind swept the gas away.

"I can't keep Akame waiting." I whispered.

"Right? Shinatsuhiko." I reached behind my back, pulling out the glistening sword.

My partner, gleaming at her full length.

"I-it reformed?!" I heard Dorothea scream.

I swung her with all my might, a bright green tornado erupted beneath the monster, sending it high up into the sky, dismembering its limbs.

I jumped high up into the sky, appearing in front of the monster.

A wind blade sliced it in half, top to bottom, disgusting purple liquid splattered down onto the battlefield, killing dozens and eroding ditches into the ground.

I locked my eyes onto my original target. Dorothea. I wonder what thoughts are flowing through her mind right now?

Not that it matters.

The wind seemingly solidified behind me, I pushed off against it and appeared right before her.

"Huh?"

What meaningless last words.

* * *

After the Wild Hunt fell, we began pushing back the Imperial Army. With their back against the western gate, a huge shadow fell down on us.

"Kaiser!" I shouted. It nodded.

 **"The enemies in the north have retreated, I blew down the Northern gate as planned."** I nodded.

"Good work."

Hayami stepped up beside me.

"Are we heading in?" She asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, let's proceed with the plan."

"Kaiser. Take us to the Palace." He nodded. I smiled, Kaiser has been more obedient recently.

We hopped on his back and took off into the city.

Behind the walls, I could see people running around, soldiers mostly, civilians were rushing into their homes, having nowhere else to go, the poor were huddling in alleys, behind walls.

This prosperous, corrupt city, built on this vast, rich land.

This city, this empire, will fall today.


	40. Chapter 40 - The Last War - Capital

**Akame's POV**

Leone and I stand hidden behind a roof, looking down on the streets.

Crowded to the brim, but not a civilian in sight.

Soldiers, supplies, guards and weapons fill the street. Corrupt officials and Merchants running around, seeking a path to the palace where they can take refuge.

They won't be making it there.

One reason for their panic, is of course, us.

Since last night, we've been continuing our killing streak, picking off our targets one by one.

Our Intel of their movements are surprisingly accurate.

My eyes narrow on our last "non-priority" target, or that's what we called them.

A well decorated carriage was being pushed through the street. Guards clearing the way and on full alert.

It's obvious that's him.

I look toward Leone and nod. She gives me a big grin and a thumbs up.

She hops off the roof, into a side alley as the carriage passes by.

The ground beneath her explodes, sending dust and debris out onto the main street.

The horses pulling the carriage rear their heads, crying out in panic. The guards start shouting out orders, sending nearly all of them into the alley to investigate.

I silently hop off the roof, landing on the street.

No one pays me any mind, none even seem to notice me.

Miss direction, or distraction if you want to call it that. The oldest trick in the book.

But no matter how old, it's still effective. Especially when the city is on high alert for us assassins.

I burst forward silently, a loud explosion in the alley syncs with the sound of shattering glass as I break through the window and into the carriage.

The merchant opens his mouth to scream, but before a sound came out, his vocal cord was sliced in half.

His head falls forward silently as he slumped in his seat, cursed marking emerges from his wound and spreads across his body.

I look out the broken, Leone standing on the roof gives me a thumbs up and brings her foot down on the roof, the entire building rumbles and the roof collapses, her shadow moves away and off into the distance.

I hop out the carriage as people screamed, slowly I sneak into a nearby alley.

Mission success, Target eliminated.

I clutch the flare.

The flare that will signal the beginning of the end.

* * *

"Leone." I said as I hopped down to our rendezvous point.

"Good work!" She congratulated me. I smiled and nodded.

"Let's get moving, next stop, and the palace."

We hopped from rooftop to rooftop, quickly and silently. Though it was midday, we were hidden by the chaos that engulfed the Capital.

We quickly arrived at the edge of the Palace.

Built high above the capital, the palace overlooked the entire city and beyond the walls.

I could barely make out the shadows to the west and south that presumably are our allies.

"Akame, you're up." I nodded.

I grabbed the flare with my left hand and the trigger with my right.

I stared at it, unable to pull the line.

How many people will die after this? My family, Night Raid, how many of them will die?

My heart was beating faster than ever. Even though I've gotten used to suppressing my emotions, the overwhelming anxiety, still caused me to hesitate.

Leone probably sensed my anxiety, she smiled and slapped me hard on the back.

I lost my balance and almost fell off the roof.

"Leone." I grumbled.

"Don't worry about it. We all have our reasons to live, none of us will die that easily. Don't keep the others waiting."

I smiled just a little. As empty as those words sound, they were also somewhat reassuring.

"Yeah, we'll get through this together."

Pushing aside my anxiety and fears.

I pulled the string.

A red light shot out of the cylinder and flew high up into the sky, exploding outwards like a firework.

I nodded at Leone and we hopped over the Palace walls and silently into the courtyard.

I took a deep breath and wiped away all my thoughts.

Leaving only one behind.

"Target. Eliminate."

* * *

 **Imperial Palace – Throne room**

"Your majesty, The Wild Hunt has fallen, the western forces are being pushed back, at this rate the rebel army will break through from the west."

"R-really? That's not good…" The young emperor replied in distress.

"Do not worry your majesty, our grand empire will never fall into the hands of rebel scum. Guards! Take this man away and execute him."

"W-what!? Your Majesty! Have mercy!" The soldier's voice faded into the air as the doors to the throne room closed with bang.

"Why did you execute him?" The emperor questioned.

"Hm? Your majesty, that man brought bad news, if you allow those who brings misfortune to live, there would be no end to the bad news, do you not agree?"

The emperor nodded slightly, deep in thought. "I see, that makes sense, as expected of the wise Minister."

"Now your majesty, at this rate, our empire will fall to those rebel scum."

"Didn't you say that was not the case?" The young emperor questioned.

"It was necessary to keep the morale of the soldiers and guards."

"I-I see."

"Your majesty, I believe it is necessary to use our empires greatest trump card."

"Eh? But…"

"Your majesty, if you hesitate now, the empire that has lasted for the last millennial will end under your rule. As the emperor of this great nation, it is necessary to show these rebel scum the power of the empire."

"Prime minister, I've been thinking, why is it that the people have rebelled under my rule and not any of the previous emperors? Have I failed as a ruler?" The young emperor questions.

The doubt has been in his mind since the beginning of his rule. Why are the people rebelling?

"Not at all your majesty! You have done your very best and achieved unbelievable results. These rebel scum are envious of your empire and your greatness. Therefore, if you show them the power of your empire, they will come to respect your majesty and your grand empire!"

The conflict inside the young emperor still caused him to hesitate.

"Your majesty, do you not trust me?"

"No, of course not, your loyalty is something I will never doubt." The emperor replied.

"Then trust me during this time of emergency, I promise you your Majesty, this empire will not fall now nor for another Millennia, there's no need to hesitate."

The emperor, still wracked with doubt, decided to ignore it. Resolve filled his mind as he stood up.

"I understand, Prime Minister, lead the way."

"Yes your majesty."

Turning his body around, the Prime Minister Honest let out a repulsive grin.

Mission, success.

* * *

The emperor, led by Prime Minister Honest, stepped into the room.

The walls, covered with protruding cubes, the ground, cylinders.

The center of the room, a shrine like structure with stairs leading up to it.

The center of the shrine, a single, full body armor slightly larger than the average man.

"W-what happened to it? It was supposed to be much, much bigger." The emperor questioned.

"Do not worry about it, I have ordered for it to be modified to be better suited for your majesty."

The prime minister then grabbed a Syringe from a shelf that was beside the armor.

"Your majesty, this syringe will allow you to control the new Shikoutazer."

The Emperor hesitated, but nodded.

"Then excuse me, your majesty." The Prime Minister pressed the syringe to the neck of the Emperor.

A horrifying grin appeared on his face.

" **Goodbye, Your Majesty~** "

The emperor fainted in his arms at the liquid entered his body.

The Prime Minister carried the Emperor to the Armor. Using a scalpel, he cut open the Emperors finger and smeared his blood on the red circle embedded in the chest of the armor.

The red sphere glowed and the armor shuddered, tentacle like ropes wrapped around the Emperors body and pulled him inside the armor.

"Destroy! Shikoutazer! DESTROY THE REBEL ARMY!"

The Armor vibrated and glowed, a menacing black aura covered the body.

From the back, 13 daggers shot out and began orbiting the armor.

It's cape fluttered up.

It's arms, one glowing white, the other letting out a black aura and a huge pressure covered the area.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA." The Prime Minister laughed.

Shikoutazer pointed its right hand up and a high pitched sound shook the air. Light gathered in the hole in the palm and a beam of pure energy pierced the roof causing the floor above to collapse.

Debris rained down on the Prime Minister and Shikoutazer, but an invisible shield prevented either from taking damage.

The Shikoutazer rose slowly from the ground before it pushed off the ground and shot up to the surface.

The prime minister looked around at the secret room.

Built directed under the throne room, the room that held the ultimate teigu, Shikoutazer.

"Now, let's go enjoy the show."

* * *

 **Akame's POV**

We had just eliminated our second high priority target when the entire palace shook.

"W-what is going on?" Leone asked me.

I looked out the window.

We were on the fourth floor, below is a courtyard. I looked around and a small figure in the sky caught my eye.

"Leone." I pointed at the figure.

Leone looked at where I was pointing and narrowed her eyes.

"A teigu user?" I asked. She nodded her head.

"Without a doubt. But somethings different."

"What do you mean?"

"My instincts are warning me neither of us can beat that." I clenched my fists.

"If that's the case, then we'll leave it to Tatsumi." Leone smirked.

"Yeah, if anyone can beat that thing, it's your boyfriend."

I smiled and looked down, my smile immediately disappearing.

"There he is."

Saikyuu, Prime Minister Honest's Aid and the man who established the Empires Assassination Squad.

"Leone, leave that man to me. Killing Honest is a top priority."

"You want to split up?" I nodded.

"He's heading to a shelter of some kind, I can't let him get away. But killing Honest is essential in this war. We can't let him get away either." Leone nodded.

"Alright, I understand, be careful." I nodded.

"You too, don't die." Leone hugged me and give me a final pat on the head before disappearing into the hallway.

I placed my hand on the spot she patted on my head.

I clenched my fists and broke through the window. Landing in the courtyard, I chased after Saikyuu.

* * *

 **Tatsumi's POV**

"Kaiser, go back to the Western front and destroy the Imperial forces, after that, assist the Revolutionary Army."

" **Alright."**

"Hayami."

"I'm ready." I placed an arm behind her back and swept her off her feet into a princess carry.

She blushed a little.

"This doesn't count as cheating ok?" I clarified. She nodded.

"Of course not, so it's okay if you do this more often." I sighed.

"She'll kill me." Hayami giggled.

Kaiser turned he neck to look at me. I nodded with all my resolve and hopped off.

The air flew past us at a steady rate and we landed on a roof down below.

I put Hayami on the ground and she patted her hair down.

I looked up and saw a shadow heading back west.

"He's a good partner." Hayami commented. I nodded.

"Yeah, the best I could ask for."

"Let's get going." I nodded.

Hayami bent her knees to jump forward when I grabbed her hand and threw her to the side and hastily jumped backwards.

A huge explosion caused debris and dust to cover the roof we were just on. The house then proceeded to collapse.

Hayami appeared beside me.

"What just happened?"

"…" I kept quiet. Why was he here?

The dust cleared and revealed a pair of wings and a glimpse of blue before it disappeared.

I looked up at the sky.

"Careful, our opponent is a duel wielder." Hayami immediately turned her eyes to the sky, on guard.

Unable to find an answer to my question, I decided to ask upright.

"What brings you here? WAVE!"

The dark blue armor, Grand Chariot, paired with the wings of angels, Mastema.

With a flap of the wings, Wave disappeared from sight and appeared next to me, a kick aimed at my stomach flying towards me.

I hopped over it and quickly drew Shinatsuhiko, swinging down at him. He caught the blade in one hand and locked me in a hold.

"Wave, what's going on?" I whispered.

"… They caught us." He said after a short pause. I narrowed my eyes.

"How?"

"They have someone watching." He said before he flapped his wings and a flurry of white lights shot at me from point blank range.

They all flew through my body and I slipped out of his hold, jumping back to create distance, sending a few wind blades at him.

He jumped over all of them and drop kicked me. I side stepped him and immediately drew Fenrir, blocking his fist with both my blades.

"What happened?"

"They are holding Kurome hostage." He said.

I could hear the anguish in his words.

I clicked my tongue and immediately sent an electric shock through his armor. But it had no effect and kicked me away.

"It's no use Tatsumi, I have a layer of rubber under this armor."

An black arrow shot onto Waves shadow and he stopped moving for a second.

I immediately dashed over to Hayami.

"I've told you about his situation and his decision right?" Hayami nodded.

"Akame's sister, Kurome is being held hostage. I will try to find out where, then I will have to send you to rescue her."

"…"

"Are you okay with that?"

"I'm fighting for you Tatsumi, nor for the army, if that's your order then I have no complaints." I nodded.

"Thank you."

Waves wings stretched out slowly and with a flap he broke out of the black arrows immobilization.

I met him in the air and began trading blows.

"Where is Kurome?"

"She should still be near the valley. We were caught an hour ago. I was immediately threatened and brought back here." He said. He raised his leg and brought it down, I blocked with my swords and sent downwards.

I stopped before I landed on the rooftops and blinked next to Hayami.

"Head west of Mount Fake until you reach a deep valley. Where I brought you back from after our battle. Search the area, rescue the black haired girl that looks like Akame. Her name is Kurome I'm counting on you." Hayami nodded and disappeared from view.

I smiled. She's a good girl.

I dodged another dropkick that would've killed me if it landed.

"What are your orders?"

"I was just told to prevent anyone from nearing the Palace." He said quickly.

"Did they threaten to kill her?" Wave nodded.

"How-"

I didn't get to finish my question when a beam of light flew up to the heavens from the Palace.

Both Wave and I turned to the light.

A speck in the distance caught our eyes.

A flying figure. An unbelievably powerful aura could be felt even from miles away.

With my sharpened eyesight, I could see it.

An armored man that's slightly larger than Bro equipped with Incursio.

The man brought his left and right hands up.

In its right, energy gathered. In its left, a black sphere.

The energy turned into a piercing white ray that shot to the south.

The white ray sliced through the wall surrounding the capital and an explosion that covered nearly half a mile radius swallowed everything.

Hundreds screamed as their skin, their flesh, their bones were disintegrated to nothing in that instant.

The feeling of despair engulfed the entire Southern Front.

The black sphere shot to the west.

A black sphere with the potential to swallow the world.

* * *

Kaiser sensed the danger in the distance.

Around it laid the blood and bodies of the Imperial Soldiers. Behind it stood the awed Revolutionary Army.

Indestructible, invincible, incredible. Those words were the only ones that flowed through the minds of the living soldiers.

After Kaiser showed up again on the western front, the battle could no longer be categorized as a battle.

The enemy quickly surrendered, just when Kaiser was ready to blow the Western Wall down, a ray of light shot up to the heavens.

Kaiser, immediately sensing the danger, flew up into the sky and looked over the wall.

A black sphere shot towards him at an incredible speed.

That sphere, a black hole, was fired with the intention of destroying everything until the creator wants it to stop.

Kaiser opened its jaws. Energy gathered into a flaming sphere, Kaiser snapped its jaws close, swallowing the ball of flames.

As the black hole drew near, the flames compressed inside of Kaiser was let loose and a larger black hole shot out.

The two black holes met directly above the wall, Kaisers engulfed the incoming black hole and expanded, swallowing a huge section of the wall, all the way to the ground, and then disappeared.

The earth shook, the sky shook.

Kaiser narrowed its eyes.

 **"This is bad... This presence."**

Kaiser flapped his mighty wings before darting towards the Palace.

* * *

 **Tatsumi's POV**

After witnessing the destructive powers of the unknown enemy, as well as the similarly destructive powers of Kaiser, I decided that I needed to stop that man quickly.

That's why.

"Sorry Wave, but I hope this doesn't kill you or anything."

I raised Fenrir to the sky and lightning struck down from the sky.

The energy spread out to four points, forming a square surrounding us.

The energy formed into 4 lightning swords and a flashes of lightning connected adjacent points.

In that instant, Wave fell to his knees unable to move.

"W-what?!" I smiled.

I did it. During my stay at the Revolutionary Army Headquarters, I consulted several scientists and discovered the theory of Electromagnetism.

Inside the square formed by these 4 swords, all metals are pinned there.

This won't last long, but it doesn't have to.

After all…

"Tatsumi!" Bulat yelled.

I turned around.

"Bro! You're still alive." I assume he smiled under his armor.

"Yeah, but so is Esdeath." I nodded.

His eyes turned to Wave.

"Wave? Didn't you say he's neutral and left with Kurome?"

"Yeah, it seems Kurome has been taken hostage and he's forced to fight. I sent Hayami to go rescue Kurome already. Bro, I have to go stop that guy."

I pointed my hand to the figure in the sky above the Palace.

"I know... that guy can't be allowed to run free." I clenched my fists.

"Bro, don't step within this area, I will leave him to you after the magnetic field wears out. Be careful, he's a duel wielder." Bulat nodded.

"You think I can hold him off?" He asked. I smirked.

"Of course."

With that, I turned around and shot off towards the figure in the distance.

* * *

 **Akame's POV**

I chased Saikyuu until they arrived in a large, open underground room.

The roof was 30 meters high, the room was 15 meters wide. On both sides, pillars supported this large underground hallway.

"Nobody involved with the suffering of the people of this nation will live past today."

I said to them.

His body guards ran at me. A desperate and useless effort.

The guards fell to the ground in an instant.

I swung my sword, blood flying off and splattering onto the ground.

"W-W-WHY ARE YOU HERE?! EVEN WHEN THERE'S A WAR GOING ON!?"

"Assassins have no place on the battlefield."

I could see him wracking his brain for something to say.

But it was useless.

There is nothing he could offer that would overwrite his sins.

Kuromes suffering, the death of all my comrades, the death of thousands by the hands of Imperial Assassins.

The blood on my hands.

His words can never wipe those away.

His head thumped on the ground before a words could be said.

I fell to my knees.

Tears rushed up to my eyes as memories of my comrades, those painful memories rushed into my head.

Finally, by my hands.

I have killed the cause of it all.

But this isn't enough. This is not revenge nor redemption.

This is…

An incredible tremor rocked the room and the roof cracked and collapsed.

Still on my knees, unable to react, I closed my eyes.

I clutched the ring given to me by Tatsumi.

And braced myself for the pain to come.

* * *

 **Hello everyone!**

 **Sorry for the huge delay but we are back again!**

 **If anyone was surprised by how powerful Kaiser was, i would like to remind you guys that he is an Ultra Class Danger Beast.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed and look forward to the next chapter where we will cover the Southern front.**

 **Seeya!**

 **BzS**


	41. Chapter 41 - The Last War - South

**Hello guys and girls, BzS here.**

 **I have been editing and updating small details in the story in preparation for the upcoming chaos. The "Last War" arc has been difficult to balance in terms of who fights who, so if you read something and think to yourself "What is going on? This was never mentioned." Please re-read starting from Chapter 19.**

 **Sorry about that, I am a terrible story planner, but hopefully this last arc will be interesting.**

 **Thank you guys for the support, hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

"Hoho? This is an impressive army."

Standing on top the wall surrounding the Capital, overlooking the vast wasteland that surrounds it, it was an incredible view.

The wasteland, now covered as for as the eye could see with Soldiers, sent shivers down her back.

"This will be a great battle."

The land was incredibly silent. Both armies stood in formation, facing each other.

As they had less men, the Imperial Army stood, waiting for the enemies' first move.

The tension was thick and anxiety at its peak, a single pin drop could send the army into panic.

"Commander Esdeath, shouldn't we move first?" A frightful messenger said, his voice shaking.

"No, that would be a stupid move."

"But... they have nearly 10 times our numbers."

Esdeath shook her head with a smile.

"This war has nothing to do with troops and armies."

A red flare shot up high into the sky behind Esdeath, whom turned around.

She smiled.

"Hm? Finally, let us begin."

In an instant, a shout followed by the thundering of 500 cannons resonated over the land, the dense rain of cannonballs threatened to tear down the Capital wall.

Esdeath's smile widened.

"Magnificent!" Raising her hand up to the sky, a barrage of ice stakes shot towards the incoming bombardment.

Struck down by the ice stakes, the entire bombardment exploded in midair, dust and debris rained down from the sky.

"Now, let us begin the hunt."

Esdeath spread her arms out, as if to embrace something.

In that instant, a sense of dread engulfed the Revolutionary army, despite the command to charge, they froze on the spot.

Mist gathered above the battlefield, 3 large, blue orbs solidified.

The nightmare that would haunt Rebel soldiers for years to come, descended upon the battlefield.

* * *

The orbs took a triangle formation in the sky.

"What is that?" Bulat asked.

Najenda shook her head.

Chills traveled down her spine, whatever those were, they have to destroy it now.

"I don't know, but we have to st-"

Without warning, the orbs cracked and shattered, as if an egg hatching.

Dense white mist burst out from within, taking on 3 different shapes.

The first 2 orbs rapidly dropped to the ground. 1 disappearing underground.

The third stayed afloat.

Slowly, their bodies solidified.

* * *

\- The first orb, 20 feet tall, a monster with 2 large, bulky legs, short arms and a long tail.

Its jaws were incredibly large, with teeth sharper than swords.

An ancient reptile, long lost in time, the fiercest predator in the history of life.

A Tyrannosaurus Rex, more commonly known as –

The Earth Dragon.

\- The second orb, disappearing underground, caused the earth the tremble.

9 long necks burst out from the ground, each over 50 feet long with snake like heads.

A mythical creature, the nemesis of all heroes, the strongest of legends -

The Nine Headed Hydra – Leviathan

\- The last orb, hovering high in the air, took shape.

Over 75 feet long, with two fins and a long, flat tail.

A horn on its head measuring over 15 feet long.

Its wail shook the earth.

An ancient, ultra-class danger beast, one of the only to die by aging -

The White Whale – Hakugei

* * *

Indescribably fear and despair engulfed the army. Most of them had no idea what they were looking at, but the sheer presence of these 3 monsters caused their instincts to scream at them.

Among those who did know what they were, was Najenda.

"No way…"

"Boss, what are those?" Bulat asked quietly.

"The reptile like creature is an extinct animal, an ancient predator unmatched by any other. The one with 9 heads is a mythical creature that's slain countless heroes. The whale like creature is an ancient danger beast that even the Empire couldn't kill. It died 200 years ago, presumably due to old age." Najenda explained in a shaky voice.

"All of them are the strongest in their category huh? It's fitting that Esdeath created them. What should we do?"

Najenda took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes.

"This wasn't completely unexpected, I knew Esdeath would pull out something incredible. We still don't know how strong they are, but we have to fear the worst." Najenda raised her arm.

"To all forces! Proceed with the original plan! Be aware of the Ice Creatures! Assume they are on par with Ultra-Class danger beasts! All Teigu wielders! Focus attacks on them! Let's bring an end to this gruesome war!"

The revolutionary army, pushing aside their fear, responded with an incredibly battle cry.

"CHARGE!"

* * *

In response to the battle cry, the Ice Legends let out their earth shaking roars.

The Hakugei twisted and turned in the air, with impossible flexibility for an Ice Creation.

White fog burst out from its body and quickly drifted to the ground.

The Hakugei flew forward, over the Revolutionary army. In an instant, the entire army was shrouded in thick fog.

"Stay Alert!" Najenda ordered.

The Hydra heads disappeared underground, the earth shaking was the only sign of movement.

Under the cover of the fog, the Earth Dragon bent down and shot towards the Revolutionary army at an incredible speed, closing the distance – over 200 meters – in a matter of seconds.

Screams echoed across the battlefield.

"Boss." Bulat said. She nodded.

"This fog… we need to deal with the Hakugei first."

"If only Tatsumi was here." Bulat said.

"Bulat, find the Spectator user. If you can see it, you can jump to that Altitude right?"

"Yeah, that's within my abilities."

"Defeat the Hakugei as quickly as possible."

"Got it."

Receiving his orders, Bulat ran off.

"KEEP UP YOUR GUARD. Squad captains! Blow your horn if you see the enemy! Once for Earth Dragon, Twice for Hydra! Teigu users! Move towards the nearest horn!"

After giving her orders, she began wracking her head for a solution.

'Bulat, please hurry.'

* * *

The footsteps of the Earth Dragon rapidly approached the vanguard.

"Ready your spears!" The Squad Captain ordered, desperately trying to hide the shaking of his voice.

The Earth Dragon burst out from the thick fog, soldiers crushed under its large limbs.

The Squad Captain immediately blew his horn.

"Reinforcements are on the way! Keep your distance! Shields! Encircle it!" A large circle of soldiers carrying shields formed around the Earth Dragon, it stood still, as if mocking them.

But that standstill didn't last, the Earth Dragon bent down and ran towards the soldiers, swinging its tail. The soldiers braced for impact and were sent flying, unable to stop the tail.

Using its turning momentum, the Earth Dragon swept its head with its jaws open, a sickening crunch marked the death of 2 brave soldiers.

Their blood added to the horrifying image of the Earth Dragon.

Horns sounded from several other directions.

The Earth Dragon bent down once again, ready to charge, but it stopped.

Bursting out from the fog, a pair of scissors sliced down at the Earth Dragon.

The Earth Dragon swung its tail to block, but unable to stop the attack completely. The pair of scissors sliced deep into the tail, though unable to severe it.

The force from the swing sent the Teigu User flying backwards.

"Tch, that's hard." The man said.

The new wielder of Cutter of Creations – Extase, Ginkaku.

"I can believe that, Commander Najenda said it's on the level of an Ultra Class." A man approached calmly.

The new wielder of The Mysterious – Adayusu, Kinkaku.

"I doubt it's that tough. After all, Demon Extract is derived from an Ultra Class, it can't possibly create Ultra Class Level creatures." Ginkaku said.

"You might be right about that, but underestimating this monster will do neither of us any good. As usual, you're on offense, I'm on defense." Kinkaku replied.

The Perfect Duo of the Revolutionary Army, one wielding the most offensive Teigu, the other wielding the most Defensive Teigu. But more than that is their teamwork.

Born with the natural ability to understand the others movements, their teamwork could be said to be flawless.

The Earth Dragon turned its full attention on the twin brothers, acknowledging them as worthy opponents.

"From the number of horns blown, we need to hurry this up."

"Agreed."

* * *

The Nine Hydra heads appeared spread out, one person was unable to see more than 2 heads at a time due to the thick fog.

Every time a head burst out from the ground marked the death of a soldier.

Those who were bit and managed to struggle out of its jaws died within minutes from Hypothermia.

Ice Venom, a special "poison" that quickly spreads throughout the body, lowering body temperature by over 10 degrees.

The Wielders of Belvaac, Scream and Black Marlin desperately fought back against the Hydra.

But even together, they were only able to barely scratch one of the heads.

Just as they were struggling to keep their fighting spirit from dimming, the fog cleared.

* * *

"Over there, your 4'oclock, 78 degrees. It's heading to your 5'oclock. Jump in 10 seconds."

"Got it."

Bulat, already fully equipped, bent down and shot upwards.

The fog surrounding Bulat cleared for a few seconds.

Bursting out of the heavy fog, Bulat finally saw the form of the Hakugei.

"I've found you, now I'll never let you out of my sight."

The Hakugei, as if noticing Bulat's presence, let out a roar and turned to face him, its horn turning to pierce him.

"That's not going to work!" Bulat twisted his body, the horn missing him by a sliver, he then grabbed onto it's horn.

Letting out a cry, Bulat forcefully turned his body and swung the Hakugei by its horn.

The Hakugei, unable to resist Incursion's brute strength, was swung around like a hammer.

Bulat using the momentum from his fall, swung the Hakugei in a circle and chucked it towards the ground.

The Hakugei crashed into the ground, sending a huge shockwave outwards, nearly clearing the battlefield of the fog.

Bulat, shot downwards towards the Hakugei, being pulled down by gravity.

The Hakugei let out a screeching cry as Bulat landed on its hide.

A large crack appeared in its side, it twisted his body and Bulat was flung off.

"Attack the Hakugei!" Najenda ordered.

The army surrounded it and began charging. The Hakugei screeched again and white mist, different from before, not nearly as thick, burst out.

In an instant, hundreds of soldiers transformed into frozen statues.

Bulat, was among those frozen statues.

Satisfied with its work, the Hakugei began ascending into the sky, thick fog once again bursting out from its body.

The ice cracked and Bulat burst out from his ice prison. He appeared in the sky above the Hakugei.

"Stay down!" Rearing back his fist, he swung with all his might. The Hakugei screeched as it once again slammed into the ground.

Bulat pulled out Nuentote and using both his downward falling momentum and his arm strength, he sent the spear with incredible accuracy.

The spear landed in the previously formed crack, lodging itself deeply into the Hakugei's hide.

The Hakugei let out another screech before swinging its tail at the falling Bulat, unable to dodge, Bulat blocked with his arms and was sent flying.

Bouncing off the ground multiple times, he finally recovered with bearings and skid to a stop.

Recovering in an instant, Bulat closed the distance.

The Hakugei, repeating the same process, sent out white mist from its body.

But this time, Bulat completely ignored the white mist.

"It's not going to work twice."

Bulat's fist rained down on the Hakugei, every punch caused a large dent to appear.

The Hakugei, unable to escape, nor effect Incursio with its freezing mist, could do nothing but screech and struggle.

Bulat jumped high into the air, finally deciding to end the fight. Using the momentum from his fall, he drop kicked Neuntote, still imbedded in the hide of the Hakugei.

The body of the Hakugei, battered and brittle from the beating, cracked from the attack. Cracks connected from one dent to another, and the body of the Hakugei shattered.

"Sigh, that took longer than I expected." Bulat said. His body wasn't tired, but at the same time, he felt an uncomfortable pressure.

The evolved Incursio sure is powerful, maybe a little too powerful.

He shook his head to refocus.

Scanning the battlefield, he quickly ran towards the nearest battle.

Completely ignored, was the lightly glowing Blue Sphere, buried under the large chunks of ice.

* * *

"Kuh." Ginkaku grunted, skidding on the ground attempting to stop his backwards momentum.

"This thing, huff, is strong." Kinkaku commented as he landed beside Ginkaku.

The Earth Dragon, with its head lowered, slowly circled around the twins, ready to attack at any moment.

A soldier, hoping to sneak up on it, was hit by its tail. His ribs crushed under the impact, ribs piercing his lungs and heart, killing him instantly.

The thick fog only allowed for a person to see 10 feet in any direction, only the large frame of the Earth Dragon allowed the Rebels to see it from further away, while the Earth Dragon seems to be able to see clearly in this thick fog.

"If only this fog would clear up…" Kinkaku said.

Suddenly, a huge gust of wind blew the thick fog away, clearing the field.

"What the hell?"

Ginkaku looked around.

The bodies of Revolutionary soldiers laid everywhere on the battlefield. Many of them died trying to attack, others crushed in the midst of their battle.

Most of them died unable to do anything.

A deafening screech pierced through the air and Ginkaku looked in that direction, the Hakugei was on the ground, something beating the living shit out of it.

"I-is that the wielder of Incursio?"

"Probably, no, definitely, as expected of Night Raid."

They turned back to the Earth Dragon, which hadn't moved since the fog cleared.

"Why didn't it attack?" Kinkaku spat on the ground in response.

"It's looking down on us."

"Now that we can see it, we'll make it pay."

With a nod, the two of them charged at the Earth Dragon. As they approached, the Earth Dragon swung its tail. Ginkaku immediately blocked with his scythe, gritting his teeth he managed to stop the tail.

Kinkaku jumped over him and swung Extase down on the Earth Dragons head.

The Earth Dragon tilted its neck to nearly 90 degrees and chomped down on Extase and threw Kinkaku away.

"Kinkaku! Ginkaku! Cut off its tail!"

Najenda's orders reached their ears.

"Why?" Ginkaku asked.

"Who cares, let's do what the commander says."

The Earth Dragon stormed towards them, bringing his head low, like a bull.

Kinkaku brought up his scythe, and leaned forward, blocking the charge. At the same time, Ginkaku circled around it and aimed for its tail.

The Earth Dragon brought its left foot forward and twisted its entire body, the tail swung towards Kinkaku and his head aimed at Ginkaku.

Still in midair and unable to dodge, Ginkaku twisted his body in desperation, using all his strength, he swung Extase towards the incoming jaw.

Out of pure luck, he smacked the Earth Dragon in the jaw with the flat side of Extase, the Earth Dragon gave out a roar and was sent onto his side.

After landing on the ground, Ginkaku jumped up again, twisting his body he swung down on the Earth Dragon's tail, aiming for the wound from the beginning of the battle.

The tail broke off and shattered on the ground. The Earth Dragon roared in pain.

It stood up and immediately fell down again.

"I see… It's tail is its way of keeping its balance. Without it its head would weigh down its entire body."

"Don't relax yet, let's destroy it."

The fearsome Earth Dragon was reduced to chunks of ice within minutes.

The glowing blue orb once again, went unnoticed as the Twins ran towards the Battle against the Hydras.

* * *

"As expected of Liver's subordinate. He's become strong." Esdeath said as she watched her creations fall one by another.

The Hakugei crumbled under Bulat's relentless assault.

The Earth Dragon lost to its own physical design.

The Hydra heads shattered one by one after Bulat arrived at the scene.

But the cost was great.

The death toll was revealed after the Fog has cleared.

The Earth Dragon had decimated the Vanguard while the Hydra steam-rolled the Calvary and backline.

The bodies of 1/10 of the Revolutionary forces covered the grassy plain.

"I guess it's about time I joined in on the hunt too." She whispered to herself.

"Go tell the commander, as soon as the last Hydra head falls, order the troops to circle around and attack." She ordered. The messenger standing behind her saluted and ran off.

She looked at her hand. It was trembling slightly.

A smile emerged on her face.

A sadistic smile.

"It's been so long since I felt this excited. Don't disappoint me."

She crouched down and slammed her hand on the ground, an ice pillar shot out and propelled her high into the air.

"Let's mow down the numbers first, Hagel Sprung!" With a snap of her finger, an enormous ice meteor came into existence behind her.

The air pressure pushed Esdeath out of the way.

"Come! Entertain me!"

* * *

"It's the last one! Don't let up!" The commander yelled.

Bulat let out a small sigh as he watched the army surround the last Hydra head.

Even though they weren't as quick and agile as the Earth Dragon, nor have the wide attack and mobility of the Hakugei, they had the power in numbers. Having to deal with 5 Hydra heads attacking at the same time was no easy feat.

But they were unable to keep up with Bulat's speed, their fangs unable to pierce Incursio.

Seeing 5 teigu users assault the last Hydra head, Bulat was finally able to relax. The strain of Incursio was taking its toll.

Walking back to Najenda, he spoke up.

"Boss, how's it looking?" She hesitated.

"We've lost a lot of soldiers… but we've still outnumber Esdeath's army by more than 9-1. What bothers me is that Esdeath still hasn't made a move."

"Why hasn't she attacked us yet?"

"The only reason I can think of, is she's hoping to reduce our numbers and exhaust our Teigu users. If that's the case, then she should be attacking at any moment now."

The last Hydra head crumbled to the ground. At the same time, the sound of the Imperial Soldiers battle cry, echoed in the distance.

High in the sky above. A meteor appeared out of thin air.

The Revolutionary Soldiers could only stare at the impending doom. Blank look in their eyes.

"Bulat!" Najenda yelled.

"Got it!" Crouching down low, ignoring his exhaustion, he jumped towards the incoming ice meteor.

"HAH!" He punched with all his might, the meteor cracked and broke apart into thousands of pieces. The debris fell down as hail ranging from the size of a fist to the size of a small cart.

The Revolutionary Soldiers began to panic, running around attempting to avoid being struck.

Taking advantage of the chaos, the Imperial Army attacked right after the hail ended.

Unorganized, exhausted, and unstable due to fear, the Revolutionary Army was being slowly pushed back despite the huge number advantage.

Bulat looked down at the scene and clenched his fists.

"Impressive." His eyes widened behind his mask and he brought his arm up to block, but Esdeath's kick was too quick. The force sent him straight to the ground, dust exploding upward.

From below, 5 water dragons flew towards Esdeath.

Frowning for once, Esdeath swung her arm and the water dragons froze in midair, falling down and crushing several brawling soldiers.

The moment Esdeath landed on the ground, she found herself surrounded by all the Revolutionary Army Teigu users.

Extase, Belvaac, L'arc Qui Ne Faut, Scream, Balzak, Adayusu, Black Marlin, Spectator, Tsukuyomi and their respective users formed a circle around her.

"Not bad rebels. To think you'd be able to gather this many Teigus."

"Esdeath! Today is your last!" Najenda shouted. Esdeath smirked.

"Good, if you had offered me a chance to surrender I would be disappointed."

Having read her thoughts, the user of Spectator opened her mouth to warn the others. In an instant, Esdeath pulled out her rapier and appeared in front her. Even though she knew what Esdeath would do, she was unable to move out of her way.

With a swift and precise strike, Esdeath pierced her throat and kicked her, sending her flying backwards.

An ice spike appeared out of the ground where she was going to land and her life faded away.

The others, unable to react fast enough, felt surprised and guilty. The guilt quickly transformed into anger.

Blood dripped on the ground. A sadistic smile appeared on Esdeath's face.

"Now! Come!"

* * *

 _ **(Too many names are confusing. So I will be referring to each Teigu Wielder by their Teigu names.)**_

Immediately, Belvaac flew towards Esdeath. She side stepped without a moment's hesitation. A water dragon followed right after.

It froze in midair and fell to the ground.

The mixing sound of Scream and Tsukuyomi filled the air.

The world turned to black and Esdeath felt her energy being sapped away.

The current user of Tsukuyomi is far less skilled compared to Yoshiro, only able to control one sense at a time.

Sensing danger from behind, an ice wall appeared. L'arc's arrows were stopped on the spot.

Balzak, Ginkaku and Kinkaku engaged Esdeath.

She ducked and blocked their attacks one after another, using only her battle instincts. Ice covered the ground and all 3 attackers stopped on the spot.

Tsukuyomi, unable to hide her shock anymore, yelled out.

"How?! How can you still see?" But that was a fatal mistake.

Her vision recovered for the second, an ice spear pierced Tsukuyomi's stomach.

"That teigu is wasted on you." Esdeath said. During that period, Ginkaku, Kinkaku and Balzak broke out from their frozen state.

Even with the energy draining effects of Scream, Esdeath continued to fight the three on equal grounds.

Balzak threw another punch with all his strength, Esdeath caught it with her palm.

"HOW?!" Esdeath, feeling disappointed, responded.

"Even at your full potential, you still can't match me." With a swing of her Rapier, his head fell onto the ground.

"This noise is getting annoying." She slammed her hand to the ground, and ice spikes began covering the ground.

"Watch out! Jump!" Najenda yelled.

All of the Teigu users jumped up. Najenda appeared above Scream and sent her head first down onto the spikes.

It was at this point that the Teigu users began losing their confidence.

L'arc began rapidly firing arrows. Not a single one got close to Esdeath, they were all stopped by an ice shield.

"Are you guys serious?" Esdeath said.

Her hats shadow was cast over her eyes.

All the users took a step back.

Her ominous presence just skyrocketed. Her bloodlust caused their bodies to shake.

"I'm thoroughly disappointed. You think a group of this level can touch me?"

Najenda grit her teeth, at this rate…

Esdeath felt a presence behind her and turned around, catching an incoming leg. The impact caused her bones to creak.

Immediately, another leg followed up, aimed at her head.

A smile returned to Esdeath's face. In an instant, the attacker was frozen in an ice block.

The figure instantly broke out and jumped back, landing in front of Najenda.

"Bulat!" The man covered from head to toe in the evolving armor, Incursio, stood up.

"Sorry, I had to take a break or else the stress would be too much. Boss, distribute the Teigu users to other parts of the battlefield. I'll hold off Esdeath."

Najenda hesitated and nodded.

"The rest of you, go destroy the attacking Imperial Soldiers. Bulat, the other walls should be falling soon."

Esdeath let out a laugh.

"You think you can fight me alone?"

"Having comrades will only weaken my resolve." Esdeath smiled sadistically.

"Good. Very good."

In that instant, the ground around Esdeath froze and Bulat completely destroyed the ground with a single punch.

The debris and chunks of frozen earth flew up into the air and Bulat disappeared from sight.

From above, a chunk of ice dropped towards her at the speed of a bullet.

Esdeath instead turned around and blocked Bulat with an ice shield she created. She lifted her feet and slammed it into the ground. An ice pillar shot up from beneath Bulat, sending him flying to intercept the dropping chunk of ice.

Bulat forcefully turned his body in midair, spin kicking the incoming ice chunk, shattering it.

Landing on his feet, he faced Esdeath again.

"Not bad, unlike those weaklings who give away their intentions through their bloodlust, you attack like a true assassin."

Without responding, Bulat returned to his stance.

That's when an Imperial Soldier rode up to Esdeath.

"Commander! Please return to the Capital, both the North and West gates have fallen!"

Immediately after, the sound of a loud gong resounded over the land.

Esdeath turned around and looked beyond the wall.

Smoke filled the sky above the Capital.

"Hmph, the other forces fell faster than anticipated."

Swinging her arm, an ice horse rose from the ground and she hopped on.

"Rebels! You have won this battle, but know that this war will not be ending with my defeat!"

The cheer that ran through the Revolutionary Army felt surprisingly empty.

This war… hasn't even begun to show its cruel side.

* * *

"Bulat, good work."

"Boss, what's the plan now?"

"After the other Teigu users began fighting the Imperial Army, we've successfully pushed all the way to the gate. How are you holding up?"

"I'm good for now." She nodded.

"Alright then, proceed as planned, go meet up with Tatsumi and Akame."

"Got it."

Najenda was left there, sitting on her horse and looking at the bloodied battlefield.

There was no way of telling exactly how many people died, but a rough estimate would result in around 150 000 deaths.

Deaths are natural in war. They fought hard and gave their lives for their beliefs and justice.

But Najenda couldn't shake off the ominous feeling she felt deep inside.

"Something big is going to happen." She whispered to herself.

"Commander, our forces are advancing."

"Good work. To all forces! Advance! Take down the Empire!"

"YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Their hope and sense of victory were destroyed in an instant.

A blinding white light pierced through the wall, and the explosion that followed wiped out everything in its path.

In that instant, 100 000 people perished.


	42. Chapter 42 - Leviathan

**Akame's POV**

I slowly opened my eyes.

The pain from being crushed under debris never came.

I looked around. A 3 feet radius around me was free of dust and debris.

Unable to understand what just happened, I looked down at my hand.

The ring… it was glowing.

A light red glow. A comforting color.

Without thinking I smiled.

"Thank you…"

I quickly wiped the tears out of my eyes and they returned to their focused state.

I surveyed my surroundings. The 90 feet high roof had collapsed, the room above was dimly lit, and therefore identifying the actual distance was difficult. Though it wasn't impossible to jump out of here, it's too risky. If I misjudged the distance, then it would be a twisted ankle at best.

The entrance I took was blocked by debris, removing them with nothing but my bare hands and Murasame is impossible.

Using the Ring Tatsumi gave me… is out of question. I have no idea how it works, not to mention controlling it to allow me to fly.

That only leaves one option –

\- Wait.

I sighed and took a seat on a nearby piece of debris.

"Good things come to those who wait…"

My eyes aimlessly wandered around the basement, finally landed on a hand sticking out of the debris.

I walked over to it and picked up what was held in the hand.

"This… a Teigu?"

A thick book with an ominous symbol engraved in the front.

Book of the World – Rongo Rongo

I flipped through the book, it's contents were nothing short of amazing.

Tactics, Techniques, Maps, Teigus and their origins, Science, Mythology.

An endless pool of knowledge.

Finally reaching the end, I took one look and a piercing pain shot through my head.

In an instant, I closed the book.

This Teigu was special. In fact, only the last page could be considered a Teigu.

I sat down once again on a nearby rock and began studying the text.

* * *

 **Tatsumi's POV**

Jumping through the air at top speeds, I flew towards the figure in the sky.

He wasn't sitting still waiting.

A white beam scanned across Capital. A series of explosions set flames to the city.

I could hear screams from miles away.

What's more, the chills I feel…

Kaiser flew up next to me.

"Kaiser, good work." I said.

" **Enough of that, Tatsumi, at this rate…"**

I nodded.

"Leviathan." I whispered to myself. Once again, I felt chills.

"We can't worry about it right now. We have to stop that thing."

I hopped onto Kaisers back and he took off like a bullet.

The sun was setting in the distance, painting the sky blood red.

The world was being dyed red by this war.

We reached the edge of the Palace in minutes.

The armored man turned towards us, finally noticing our presence.

He was clearly in view now.

He was larger than Bulat, around 6 ft 6.

But that wasn't drew my attention.

The 13 daggers that orbited behind his body.

The 2 half-shield shaped plates attached to both sides of his waist.

The blood red cape that wrapped halfway around his body.

The Black gauntlet on its right arm.

The overwhelming sense of power radiating from his presence.

"Is that a teigu?"

Kaiser shook his head.

" **There are only 2 armor type teigu's… no, 3."**

"You mean the Ultimate Teigu – Shikoutazer." I remembered.

" **That's right, but it's supposed to be a huge teigu able to reach the sky."**

Without warning, it raised its right arm.

The black gauntlet with a grey indent.

"That's a teigu for sure." I said to Kaiser. He nodded.

"In any case, we can't let him fire."

I sent a wind blade with no expectation of taking him down, aiming to at least interrupt him.

But what I didn't expect was when something blocked it.

With no motions, the Wind blade struck something and dissipated.

"What?!" Kaiser quickly flew to one side to avoid the incoming black sphere, it shot off into the distance, beyond the Capital wall, and expanded outward, swallowing the earth.

"Kaiser, did the Shikoutazer have a defense ability?"

" **Definitely not."**

"Then that means…" Quickly searching through all the Teigu's, I remembered its name.

"Those half-shields… Shield of Light – Bkulians. It's duel wielding?"

" **No, there's at least 2 more. That cape, I remember it, Eternal wounds – Stigmata."**

Without warning, the orbiting daggers flew towards us at the speed of arrows.

" **Don't get cut!"**

I jumped off Kaiser and he took a nose dive.

Eternal Wounds – Stigmata, a Teigu with a widespread effect. In a large area around the user, all wounds worsen over time. A single scratch can turn into a fatal wound in minutes.

The daggers arced towards us without a delay, 6 following Kaiser and 7 following me.

I immediately stepped off thin air and shot off into a different direction.

The daggers didn't falter and continued to follow after me.

"These daggers - Blades of Holy Decree - Aster?!"

Blades of Holy Decree – Aster, 13 short daggers that are controlled mentally.

I stopped in mid-air and pulled out Fenrir.

The 7 daggers came at different directions consecutively, using both swords, I knocked down all seven.

Finally, the daggers fell downwards and returned to the armored man.

I regrouped with Kaiser, whom, had slapped down the daggers following him.

" **At this point, I'm counting 4, 5 if you include Shikoutazer."**

"But how's it possible?!"

" **It's not possible, there are only 2 possible explanations. One, they did something to the teigu's. Two, they did something to the wielder."**

"The Teigu's are made from Ultra Class danger beasts, after the First Emperor, the empire couldn't even create another one, much less alter the originals. The second's more plausible."

When duel wielding, the Teigu's remaining instincts over territory cause them to conflict within the wielders body. The only way to duel wield is to either have one of the 3 Sentient Teigus: Shinatsuhiko, Fenrir, or Artemis.

Or have a strong body and will to suppress both Teigus, like Wave.

But wielding 5 teigu's is physically impossible. No booster drugs can possibly strengthen the body to withstand the pressure of 5 Teigus.

Therefore…

"That thing won't last long. At the very most, it can only last an hour."

" **Then should we stall it?"**

That's right.. if we just stall this battle out, in an hour, this war would be pretty much won.

But…

"1 hour…How many people will die by the hands of this monster? 10 thousand? 20 thousand? 100 thousand? 1 million?"

A fire burned within me.

I have to stop this guy.

* * *

 **Bulat's POV**

I unequipped Incursio for a moment. My muscles ached, Incursio was really taking it's toll.

Wave was still bound within the Electromagnetic field. To be able to bind a duel wielder, it must be incredibly powerful.

Thinking about Tatsumi, a proud smile appeared on my face.

He's gotten really strong.

Clenching my fists, I felt a competitive urge welling up inside me.

A black sphere shot past overhead and beyond the Capital walls, causing a huge explosion out in the wilderness.

I turned my head to the Palace, barely able to make out Tatsumi and Kaiser flying around, trying to avoid something.

A loud crunch caused me to return my focus to Wave.

The electric swords cracked and Wave began forcing his way up.

"Let's get this show on the road." I said to myself. Stabbing Incursio into the ground, I shouted its name, my fighting spirit once again reignited.

The dragon like steel armor once again enveloped me. But this time, it lacked the strain it had minutes ago.

Feeling overwhelmingly powerful, I dropped into my stance and faced my opponent.

The house beneath wave began trembling. The swords made of electricity cracked and shattered.

At the same time, Wave shot up high into the sky and the house beneath him crumbled.

I completely ignored the collapsing house and focused on Wave. He was high in the sky, looking down on me.

"I have to go after Tatsumi." He said. With a flap of the wing, he flew towards the Palace.

As if I'd let him.

In an instant, he went from flying horizontally to falling vertically.

Appearing beside him, I twisted my body and kicked him downward.

Sensing my presence, he blocked with both arms, but that didn't stop the momentum.

He was able to avoid crashing into the ground thanks to Mastema.

I immediately followed up with a drop kick, he quickly avoided and the building beneath him crumbled.

Bursting out of the dust, I engaged him in close quarters combat.

Every time our fists collided, the force caused nearby buildings to shake.

A single kick broke through my guard and sent me crashing through 4 floors.

I quickly stood up, ignoring the aching of my body.

"As expected of a Duel Wielder, his power is incredible."

I saw him attempting to fly away. I bent my knees and chased after him. Grabbing his legs before he gain momentum, I threw him back again.

A huge rain of feathers shot towards me. I jumped to the side, avoiding it, but the poor shop below collapsed.

"Damn. Hayami-san, please hurry."

* * *

 **Hayami's POV**

"Found them."

Following Tatsumi's orders, I ran at top speeds towards Mount Fake.

After reaching the Valley, it was only a matter of minutes before I found my targets.

"They really aren't trying to hide."

A small cabin sitting on top of a small hill near the Valley.

2 groups of 6 assassins patrolled the parameters. Probably more guarding Kurome.

Hayami sat high on a branch besides the clearing.

The sun is just above the Horizon, I need to hurry.

The Empire's Assassins shouldn't be underestimated. The instant they discover my presence, Kurome's life would be in danger.

I was never an assassin, so I can't hope to hide my killing intent while attacking.

I smiled.

That just means I have to kill them before they could alert the others.

The first group of 6 assassins passed by.

They marched in 2 parallel lines.

Taking a deep breathe, I pulled back 2 arrows.

A flash of yellow and all 6 fell to the ground. A hole in each of their heads.

I jumped into the sky and flew right over the other group of 6.

By the time I landed on the ground, they were all dead.

Turning to the house, I decided that there was no time to waste.

A single Earth arrow broke down the wall.

I dashed into the house and instantly identified my enemies.

A younger looking Akame was tied to a wooden pillar in the center of the room.

There were 4 guards inside the house, 3 standing by windows and one at the front door.

Taking advantage of their momentary surprise, I released the first arrow.

The guard closest to Kurome fell down, an Earth Arrow crushing his chest.

Finally, the guards snapped out of their shock, 2 of them charged towards me while the third towards Kurome.

Pulled back another arrow, in an instant the arrow shone as bright as the sun and all the guards were blinded.

Following her instinct, Kurome turned her head away from the light.

I fired the arrow towards Kurome and it sliced through the rope that bound her.

Freed from her rope, she ran up to the guard that was aiming to kill her and snapped his neck.

A water arrow cleaned up the other 2, punching numerous holes into their body.

I let out a sigh of relief as they fell on the ground.

"Who are you?"

"Hayami, I'm here to save you. Your friend, Wave I think, is currently fighting against the Revolutionary Army." Kurome clenched her fists with an angry expression.

"So that's what they wanted from him… Is he okay?"

"Tatsumi won't kill him. Now that you're safe, I have to hurry back."

"Take me with you."

I raised an eyebrow.

From what I heard, this girl is in the middle of recovering from the aftereffects of drugs. Her teigu broke quite some time ago.

She seemed to notice my surprise.

"I may not have my Teigu or drugs anymore, I am still an assassin. With that being said I don't plan on fighting. Wave won't believe I'm safe until he sees me. I can also convince him to join your cause."

"… Alright." I said after a moment of consideration.

I turned around and signaled for her to get on.

She seemed confused but got on without question.

I walked out of the house with her on my back and began running, careful not to go too fast.

After all, a weak body can't withstand the pressure of breaking the sound barrier.

This is going to be a long trip. I thought to myself.

* * *

 **Tatsumi's POV**

"… **Alright. What's the plan?"**

"First I have to break through Bkulians."

The power of Teigus increase when duel wielding. With 5 Teigus, how strong is it?

"Kaiser, we'll be attacking from different angles simultaneously." I ordered and instantly jumped into the air.

Stopping at a decent distance, I sent a wind blade at him. Then, I stepped off the air and flew downwards at an angle, stopping at a different angle and sent a second wind blade.

The 2 winds blades, fired at different times and different distances, converged on the man.

At the same time, a huge fire blast erupted from Kaiser's mouth.

All three attacks were blocked by the force field.

Narrowing my eyes, I landed on the ground and drew Fenrir. A lightning bolt shot out from within my sheath and towards the man.

The man turned around and blocked the lightning bolt with his right gauntlet, Black Hole.

"3 directions at a time? Is that the limit?"

Shield of Light - Bkulians. A defensive Teigu that automatically protects it's user from attacks, but there's a limit to how many attacks it could defend from.

A disgusting voice pierced through the air.

"HAHAHAH, YOUR MAJESTY, NO, SHIKOUTAZER, KILL THEM ALL!"

My eyes widened.

That's the Emperor? How is the young Emperor capable of withstanding 5 Teigus?

I immediately found the source of the voice.

"That's… Prime Minister Honest." I whispered to myself angrily.

That pig, should I go kill it now?

I shook my head.

"Leone and Akame will take care of him. Now the real issue is, how do I overcome that shield of his?"

Sensing danger, I jumped high into the air.

A white beam struck where I was and the huge explosion that ensued swallowed the entire Palace garden and the walls surrounding it.

The earthquake that followed caused an entire section of the Palace to collapse.

Without anytime to be shocked, I flew back into battle, pursued by 13 homing daggers.

* * *

Leone leaned against the wall to prevent herself from falling down.

The earthquake was definitely not natural. She had to hurry.

Ever since they split up, Leone had been running around the Palace. Without a map nor knowledge of where Honest was, she could only rely on her instincts to lead her around.

Then she picked up a smell that made her stomach lurch. A terribly evil stench.

The stench was now so strong that she's sure she's almost there.

Turning around the corner, she reached the balcony.

And sitting on a chair, on the other side, was a fat, disgusting man.

"Ara?" He stood up and turned around.

"What do we have here?"

"Your executioner."

I had no doubts that this was Prime Minister Honest

"BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Honest laughed.

In an instant, his laughter stopped.

"You? My executioner?"

Leone narrowed her eyes.

This fat pig, die!

She closed the gap instantly and sent a punch aimed to knock his head off his neck.

Suddenly, she felt as if she punched a steel wall.

A kick in the stomach sent her flying back into the hallway.

'This bastard…' Leone thought as she picked herself up.

'…is strong!'

* * *

Akame stood up as soon as she felt the ground shake.

'Here it is!'

The opportunity she was waiting for.

She snapped Rongo Rongo shut and stuffed it into her shirt.

The roof of the room above shook and cracked. Soon, the weight of the roof caused it to collapse on itself.

Huge pieces of debris fell down, mirroring what happened before.

But this time, it was an opportunity.

In an instant, Akame had planned out her route out.

Akame bent her knees and jumped, reaching over 20 meters in the air. A huge piece of falling concrete appeared in front of her.

She brought her legs up and landed sideways on the piece of concrete and instantly kicked off.

Another large piece of concrete fell in her path, and she stepped off of it, jumping forward.

She rolled once, landing safely in the floor above and dashed out of the room, into the hallway, and out the nearest window.

The shattering of glass was followed by a flash of red.

Closing her eyes from the bright light, she kept running forward.

Blinking a few times, her eyes adjusted to the new brightness.

The blood red sky greeted her.

The ground shook as the section of the palace collapsed.

But she held her sigh of relief.

The war, was not over.

* * *

 **Leone's POV**

I pushed myself off the ground and glared at Prime Minister Honest.

"Now, now, now, don't glare at me like that." He laughed. Gritting my teeth, I swallowed my seething rage.

In the distance, a huge explosion swallowed an entire district in seconds.

The sheer power of the armored man in the sky was baffling.

"Oho? Do you like it? That's the young emperor. I'm so proud of him." He chuckled.

"The emperor?"

"Of course, he's wielding 5 Teigu's at the same time now. Ohhhh they grow so fast."

"That's impossible! By using the power of Alchemy, with surrounds the use of human life force, we created a special serum that is basically the condensed life force of a thousand men. I personally injected the young emperor with that serum, which forced his life force out of control. The Shikoutazer is converting all this life force into energy to control all the Teigus."

He spread his arms out wide.

"AND BEHOLD, THIS IS THE RESULT. THE WORLD'S GREATEST WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION!"

"You bastard!" Leone dashed forwards again, swinging her fist out of rage.

As the fist closed in on Honest's head, Honest bent backwards with impossible agility and flexibility.

He grabbed her fist and spun around, using her arm as a lever and his shoulder as a fulcrum, he user her momentum to throw her off the balcony.

Leone twisted her body in mid and landed heavily on the ground 50 feet below.

"I may not look like it, but I used to be the Empire's greatest General. This Prime Minister seat wasn't rewarded to me for nothing."

"You…"

"It's about time for dinner, and your flesh looks delicious."

* * *

 **Hayami's POV**

In the short time I was gone. The great Capital had changed into an unrecognizable city.

Standing on top of the wall, I could only stare.

Almost half the city had fallen to ruins, with craters everywhere.

Another beam of light and the shockwave that followed led me to believe one thing.

This isn't a war anymore.

"We have to hurry." Kurome said. I nodded and prepared to jump off the wall.

That's when I stopped.

In the distance. I could see the Revolutionary army, they were standing inside a large crater.

A single figure stood among them.

A speck of dust flew into my right eye, and I shut it. Using my right hand to rub it, I quickly got it out.

In that instant, the winter wind blew across the land.

I opened my eyes, and what greeted me, was a great winter storm.

* * *

Esdeath stood, surrounded by the Revolutionary Army.

"Give up Esdeath! Your army is in shambles, you're the only one left! Victory is out of reach!"

Najenda shouted.

Those words, honestly, Najenda herself didn't even believe it.

This woman, it's not the end of her.

Esdeath had a sadistic smile on her face.

"Your army is very impressive. But this isn't enough. Najenda, did you know? Ever since the ordeal at the Arena. I have been saving up my power. I knew this situation would happen one day, where I, alone, would stand before an army of hundreds of thousands."

Najenda glared at her.

"Give up! Your Ice Beasts have been defeated."

The smile on Esdeath widened.

"Those? Those were byproducts, avatars, containers."

"What?!"

Esdeath raised her hand to the sky.

"Allow me to show you the ultimate anti-army technique."

Outside the city walls, South of the old wall, the frozen remains of the 3 ice beasts slowly faded in to mist.

3 glowing blue orbs shot out from the mist and high into the sky.

Taking less than a second to determine where they were being called to, they shot to Esdeath and began orbiting around her.

"Those orbs!" Najenda exclaimed.

"These orbs, are the result of freezing my energy. They each contain power enough to freeze time."

"CHARGE!" Najenda yelled desperately.

"Too late!"

The ice spheres shattered.

The winter storm was released.

The ground around Esdeath froze and spread outwards, covering over 1 kilometer in radius.

The frozen energy transformed into an icy whirlwind and shot towards the sky.

Grey clouds spread out instantly, covering the entire sky.

The icy wind brought about falling snow.

Summer, in an instant, was overwritten.

* * *

"Tch, what is going on?!" Bulat yelled, sending a punch at Wave.

The sky, dyed red by the setting sun a moment ago, was now a despairing grey.

The falling snow had become a white carpet, covering the wreckage.

The area around them, which used to be a district full of buildings, was now nothing more than debris and splinters.

"I don't know." Wave said.

Grand Chariot was obviously damaged, with dents in the chest, arms and back.

Incursio was not in a better shape, with cracks and indents everywhere.

The battle was even, Wave couldn't get away no matter what he did, Bulat couldn't land a decisive blow either.

A single kick sent Bulat flying backwards.

He feet skid across the ground, quickly coming to a stop.

He bent his knees to charge again when a girl's voice stopped them.

"Wave!" Waves head snapped to the side.

Kurome's figure stood in the midst of the wreckage. In an instant, Wave disappeared from sight and appeared next to Kurome. His armor unequipped and pulled Kurome into a hug.

"Kurome! I'm sorry!" He said, tears welling up.

"Me too, Wave, I'm sorry."

Bulat let out a huge sigh and unequipped his armor, the freezing cold assaulted him instantly.

Hayami landed beside him.

"That was fast." Bulat said.

"Of course." Hayami replied.

"What's the plan now?"

"I…" Hayami replied instantly. Bulat looked at the sky.

"This blizzard, its Esdeath right?" Bulat asked.

"Yeah, without a doubt. That woman is insane. This is no longer within the limits a human should be able to do."

"Agreed. We have to go stop Esdeath quickly, or else this blizzard would be the end of our army."

Hayami shook her head.

"I thought about heading straight to her, but I decided to trust him."

"Him?" Bulat asked. Hayami smiled.

"Tatsumi, he will do something about this storm."

As if queued by her statement.

A flash of lightning.

The winter was blown away by a spring wind.

The world shook.

A black hole erupted in the sky.

An incomprehensible existence appeared.

* * *

Tatsumi was getting just a bit desperate.

The defenses and tenacity of the figure went beyond his expectations.

It's been more than half an hour since the beginning of their battle.

Several attacks have gotten past The Emperor's Bkulians, but what was beyond expectations was the armor itself.

The Prime Minister called the Emperor "Shikoutazer." The name of the ultimate teigu that the First Emperor created as a last resort available only to his bloodline, in order to ensure the Empire will survive in the future.

The Shikoutazer is supposed to be a huge weapon of mass destruction. But even after shrinking its size, its destructive and defensive capabilities haven't dwindled at all.

Every attack that has gotten past Bkulians, haven't been able to do more damage than a slim cut.

And during this time. The half the Capital has been reduced to piles of debris and craters in the ground.

"Any good ideas?" Tatsumi said to the nearby dragon.

" **Wait until it destroys itself, or destroy Bkulians."** He proposed.

I clenched my fists.

"If I used 'that' technique. I might be able to bypass Bkulians. But if that isn't enough to kill him…"

" **What techni-"** His thundering voice was interrupted by the roaring of the wind.

I spun around and my eyes widened.

The sky, clear an instant ago, was covered in grey clouds. In the distance, a kilometer radius was transformed into a frozen hell.

Snow floated down from the sky like a thick blanket. The wind caused each snow pedal to feel like a small needle.

"Esdeath… She's not human." Tatsumi whispered to himself.

" **Pay attention!"** Tatsumi immediately did a backflip, several daggers flew past where he was a second ago.

"Sorry. I have to do something about this storm." Kaiser nodded.

" **I'll hold him off for a second."** Tatsumi nodded and dropped down to the ground.

A black orb slowly appeared in the Emperor's hand. Kaiser began gathering energy in his mouth.

Tatsumi closed his eyes.

He felt energy gathering in the sky above him. In the form of electricity.

Thunders Edge – Fenrir has three power levels.

Level one. Yellow lightning.

Level two. Blue lightning.

Level three. White lightning.

Each power level is stronger than the one before, but exponentially harder to control. Overuse can easily fry the user's synapses.

But that just means it just has to be an instant.

The power building up high in the sky exploded and pure, white light struck down from the sky.

At the same instant. Tatsumi transferred the energy to Shinatsuhiko and stabbed her into the ground.

From below. A light green beam of energy shot up towards the sky.

The sky cleared in that instant. But not completely, only sky above the Capital and a hundred miles around it.

Tatsumi smiled. He wasn't human either…

' **And humans that aren't humans, shouldn't exist. '**

The black holes of Kaiser and the Emperor collided in the sky.

And the sky glitched out.

* * *

The black hole expanded outwards. The sky began to glitch. Colorful squares appeared and disappeared all over the sky, as if the world itself were malfunctioning.

From the black hole, a creature slowly made its way out.

The head, as large as a house, with a long jaw filed with uneven, teeth the size of small pine trees. All four of its eyes glowed a menacing green. Spikes in its skin lined from the sides of its head all the way down to its tail.

Tatsumi felt his body shaking. Unbeknownst to him, only 5 other people felt that fear.

Hayami looped up at its form and held her left arm with her right hand. Clenching down to stop the shaking.

Kaiser shook its head, trying to clear away the sense of despair.

Wave, Esdeath, and the Emperor all froze.

"W-w-w-w-w-what is that?!" Wave yelled out. Hayami shook her head.

"Yeah.. what is that?" Bulat asked tilting his head. Hayami looked at him in wonder.

"How are you so calm?"

"What do you mean? All I see is a cluster of colored boxes in the sky. Is this some sort of optical phenomenon?" Hayami stared at him.

"You're telling me, you can't see that?"

"See what?" Hayami shook her head.

Then why could she see it?

Tatsumi turned to Kaiser.

"Is that…"

"Yeah, that's him."

Flying high in the sky without wings, defying all physical laws with its very existence, shrouded in an aura that could kill all existences, a creature incomprehensible to normal humans.

 **The Serpent of Chaos – Leviathan.**

* * *

 **(** **. ?1468310172) - Leviathan**


	43. Important Notice

**TL:DR - I'm rewriting this story.**

 **As most of you know, this story is reaching its end. I had intended the next chapter to be the last chapter, conclude the war, beat the dragon, and then wrap it up with a prologue detailing what happens afterward.**

 **But the thing is, I spent the entire time since last update writing and rewriting this "last chapter" over and over again.**

 **And I've come to the conclusion that, I can't end this story like this.**

 **You guys have been giving me tons of support for this story, but I've made a lot of mistakes in writing this story, huge plot holes I tried to fill up with bullshit.**

 **Tatsumi is basically gone for half this story for the sake of time skip power-ups. My 2 OC's are pointless characters, The entire existence of "the final boss" was made up on the fly so that the story can have a climax.**

 **It's really bad.**

 **Maybe some of you want to see the ending sooner, but I personally want this story to be something I can be proud of.**

 **If I end it off with beating the boss, saving the world, I will definitely not satisfied with this story, and I doubt you guys, the readers, will be satisfied either. Yet there are too many issues to fix while keeping the story somewhat readable.**

 **Which is why I came to this decision.**

 **I'm rewriting this story.**

 **I've spent a ton of time thinking up ideas and plots for this story, ones I believe would be better than the "Overpowered Bullshit Final Boss that Threatens humanity" climax I attempted to create.**

 **So to my long-time readers, I'm really sorry, I can't finish this story like this.**

 **I can only hope my second attempt will make this a decent, enjoyable story I can proudly say I wrote.**

 **So what will happen to this story?**

 **Since I'm re-writing it with an entirely new finale, it's basically going to be a different story but using the same characters and maybe the same teigu's.**

 **I don't know how long rewriting this 40 chapter story will take, but I don't plan on giving up until it's done.**

 **Once again, I'm really sorry about this, I left you guys hanging for a good 2 months before saying I'm not going to post the last chapter. But I believe this is for the best.**

 **Thank you all for your support.**

 **-BzS**


	44. New Story Update

**Hello guys.**

 **Thank you so much for your patience. I have published the new and rewritten story Soul of the Tempest - Shintsuhiko. I have the first dozen or so chapter written, I'm just going through and editing each chapters and adding details where it is lacking.  
**

 **Once again, thank you all so much for tolerating this rewrite deal. I will do my best to make this story a story I can personally enjoy, and hopefully, you all can enjoy.  
**

 **Big thanks to An Exile for editing for me in this new story.  
**

 **I hope you enjoy! - BzS**


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